Government Discusses Measures to Promote 'Suicide Prevention Policies' for COVID-19 Depression... Local Government Inspection Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 2nd that it will hold the "12th Suicide Prevention Local Government Inspection Meeting" via a non-face-to-face video conference to share the progress of suicide prevention policies related to COVID-19 depression and discuss specific measures to strengthen suicide prevention infrastructure.

Starting with the first meeting held in September 2018, this 12th meeting will bring together related ministries such as the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, along with 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, and outstanding local governments in suicide prevention including Hongseong-gun in Chungnam, Gimje-si in Jeonbuk, and Okcheon-gun in Chungbuk, to collectively review the overall progress of suicide prevention policies.

In particular, this meeting will prepare in advance for the possibility of an increase in suicide deaths 2 to 3 years later due to prolonged economic difficulties and social isolation caused by COVID-19. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will provide guidance on expanding suicide prevention projects and budgets such as one-stop services for suicide survivors and regionally tailored policy support, and will request cooperation to expand dedicated personnel within local governments to promote suicide prevention policies and strengthen infrastructure reflecting the characteristics of each region.

Prior to this meeting, six local governments, including the top three metropolitan cities and provinces with excellent performance in suicide prevention policy implementation last year and outstanding basic local governments recommended by those metropolitan cities and provinces, will share their suicide prevention policy progress.

Choi Byung-kwan, Director of Local Administration Policy, stated, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will do its best to build a more solid and organic response system between related ministries and local governments to support proactive suicide prevention policy implementation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.