Military Suicide Rate Doubled Last Year... Greater Increase Among Officers

83 Soldiers Who Committed Suicide Last Year

The offline job fair for military personnel, which had not been held due to COVID-19, was held for the first time in three years. On the 11th, soldiers were looking for jobs at the "2022 First Half 1st Military Personnel Job Fair" held at Hall 5 of KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. This event featured over 120 company booths for recruitment interviews and consultations, as well as recruitment briefings and special lectures by notable figures. The Ministry of National Defense plans to hold a total of three job fairs this year, including this first fair, with additional events scheduled for June and September. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The suicide rate among soldiers nearly doubled last year.

According to the recent five-year suicide rate data of soldiers submitted by the Ministry of National Defense to Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, 83 soldiers committed suicide in 2021, nearly doubling from 42 in 2020.

When converted to the suicide rate per 100,000 people, which is used to assess civilian suicide rates, it surged from 7.1 in 2020 to 14.1 in 2021.

Breaking down by officers and enlisted soldiers, the proportion of suicides was higher among officers than enlisted soldiers. The number of enlisted soldier suicides increased from 17 in 2017 to 27 in 2019, then decreased to 15 in 2020, but rose again to 25 in 2021. For officers, the number decreased to 27 in 2020 but increased significantly to 58 in 2021, a rise of 31 cases or 115.8% compared to the previous year.

Despite the increasing trend in suicide rates, the budget execution rate for the Ministry of National Defense's "Suicide Prevention Specialist Instructor Training Project" last year was only 37.5%.

Assemblyman Kim Ki-hyun emphasized, "To reduce the ongoing extreme choices of soldiers, it is necessary to strengthen various mental health and psychological support services that can more thoroughly protect military personnel."

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