Suicide tops causes of death among Korean youth for 14th straight year - The Korea Times

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Suicide tops causes of death among Korean youth for 14th straight year<br>ListenListen<br>Text Size<br>Print

By Park Ung Published May 22, 2026 5:23 pm KST

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Suicide has been the leading cause of death among Korean youth for 14 consecutive years since 2011, claiming more than three times as many young lives as safety accidents have in 2024.<br>According to youth statistics released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday, the number of deaths among those aged 9 to 24 stood at 1,749 in 2024. Suicide was the leading cause at 10.9 deaths per 100,000, followed by safety accidents at 3.3 and cancer at 2.6.<br>A Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency survey of 54,170 middle and high school students last year found that more than one in four, or 25.7 percent, reported experiencing feelings of depression in the past year.<br>The number of people aged 9 to 24 stands at 7.4 million this year, accounting for 14.4 percent of the total population, down 46.5 percent from four decades ago. Students from multicultural backgrounds, by contrast, are on the rise. The number of such students in elementary, middle and high schools surged 145 percent from 82,536 in 2015 to 202,208 last year, now accounting for 4 percent of all students.<br>Students also expressed the need for broad support for foreigners in Korea. In a 2025 survey of 8,764 students from upper elementary through high school, 93.6 percent said foreigners in Korea deserve equal access to education, a figure that has held at around 94 percent since 2019.<br>The same survey found that 80.4 percent of students believed youth should engage with social and political issues and make their voices heard. The figure was higher among girls at 83.9 percent than boys at 77.1 percent.<br>Support for gender equality remained near universal, with 97.3 percent of students saying men and women should have equal rights in all areas, a figure that has stayed above 95 percent since 2017. Girls showed stronger support than boys, at 98.7 percent compared to 95.9 percent.<br>If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide, contact Korea's Suicide Crisis hotline at 109. For foreign language assistance to connect with mental health professionals, call Danuri Portal's helpline at 1577-1366.