Repeated Police Suicides... "Periodic Psychological Counseling and Stress Relief Needed"

Three Police Officers Have Already Taken Extreme Measures This Year
Experts Say "Development of Dedicated Counseling System Needed"

According to a research team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the risk of developing depression increases with longer SNS usage time and more frequent access.
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[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] ‘I am sorry to my family’

This is a note found on the cellphone of an active police officer who made an extreme choice at a police box under the jurisdiction of Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul on the 27th. He was an 8-year veteran police officer and was known to have been assigned to the police box for less than a month.

Incidents of active police officers making extreme choices with firearms at their workplaces are occurring one after another. Experts say that stress management through mental counseling is necessary to prevent such extreme choices.

In November last year, a 50-year-old police sergeant at a police box in Jongno-gu also took his own life. According to statistics from the National Police Agency, the number of police officers who committed suicide was 20 in 2019, 24 in 2020, and 24 last year. This year, including the case on the 27th of last month, three police officers have made extreme choices.

Police officers, who are regularly exposed to conflicts and crimes, often suffer from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to data from the office of Rep. Eunju Lee of the Justice Party, the number of police officers suffering from depression increased by 44.5% (346 people) over five years, from 777 in 2016 to 1,123 in 2020.

Depression can lead to suicide, and considering the nature of police officers who carry firearms, there are calls for mental counseling and psychological treatment for them. Accordingly, the National Police Agency operates the ‘Mind Companion Center’ on its own to take the lead in psychological treatment for police officers.

However, there are only two personnel in the National Police Agency handling police officers’ depression and suicide-related tasks. The department responsible for mental health promotion for suicide prevention in the police agency is the Welfare Support Division, where one police sergeant is in charge of mental health and one administrative officer supports suicide-related tasks.

It was also found that the number of counselors at the Mind Companion Centers is insufficient. There are a total of 21 counselors stationed at 18 centers nationwide. In 2020, 8,961 police officers received counseling at the centers, meaning one counselor handled counseling for 427 police officers.

Experts say that recruiting professionals dedicated to mental counseling and developing systems for this is the fundamental solution. Professor Yoonseong Oh of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University said, “Due to the occupational characteristic of always carrying firearms, solutions such as confiscating firearms are impossible,” and added, “A mental counseling system exclusively for police officers must be established and operated.”

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