[Exclusive] Non-commissioned Officers Are at Risk... Record High Number of Suicides This Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] This year, the number of extreme cases of self-harm in the military has been the highest since 2015. Although the Ministry of National Defense has implemented various systems to prevent extreme self-harm in the military, they have not produced significant results.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 10th, the number of soldiers who committed extreme self-harm during military service gradually decreased from 57 in 2015 and 54 in 2016, continuing to decline to 42 in 2019 and 41 last year. However, the number sharply increased to 69 by September this year. By rank, enlisted soldiers numbered 22, up from 15 in 2019 and 14 last year, and non-commissioned officers nearly doubled to 34, compared to 18 in both 2019 and last year.

By branch, the Army had the highest number this year with 44 cases, followed by the Air Force with 11, the Navy with 9, and the directly controlled units with 4. The military analyzed that the prolonged restrictions on leave and overnight stays due to COVID-19 led to an increase in extreme self-harm cases. However, considering that cases actually decreased last year when COVID-19 restrictions were also in place, there are criticisms that the issue may stem from problems within the military’s internal systems.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated, "We plan to increase the budget for the civilian psychological counseling support (EAP), which guarantees anonymity, and by early next year, we will also establish policies to improve the service conditions for junior officers."

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