[Reporter’s Notebook] Youth Suicide Prevention Is an Investment, Not a Cost

"We will also introduce suicide prevention counseling using social networking services (SNS) familiar to adolescents and young adults."

This was a statement made by Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, in April last year. However, the service was postponed due to "budgetary issues," and preparations are underway to operate it in the second half of this year. This indicates that the government is not urgently addressing suicide prevention measures for adolescents and young adults.

The government announced a goal to reduce the suicide rate by 50% within 10 years through measures such as shortening the mental health screening cycle for young adults and expanding psychological counseling services. However, the policy focus is primarily on people in their 20s and 30s.

The leading cause of death among teenagers in South Korea is suicide. Although they account for about 3% of the total suicide population, the rate of increase is quite serious. In the past five years, suicide and self-harm attempts among teenagers per 100,000 population surged by 68.9%. This is about six times the overall increase rate of 11.8% for all suicide and self-harm attempts. According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the number of teenagers diagnosed with depression has rapidly increased from 42,535 in 2018, 47,865 in 2019, 48,645 in 2020, 56,484 in 2021, to 68,070 in 2022.

The Ministry of Education plans to introduce a provisional "Maeumiji Test," a crisis student screening test that can be used regularly in elementary, middle, and high schools starting this March. If a teacher deems it necessary to observe and test a student, they can proceed with parental consent. It is commendable that the testing cycle has been advanced compared to the current "Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics Test," which is conducted for 1st and 4th graders in elementary school, 1st graders in middle school, and 1st graders in high school. However, as before, the prevailing view is that proper testing will not be conducted due to concerns from both parents and students about external exposure and stigma effects.

Experts consider the activation of specialized counseling teachers in each school as the most important policy. While advanced countries have established systematic systems, the reality in South Korea is different. As of last year, out of 11,819 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, only 5,257 schools, or 44.4%, had specialized counseling teachers assigned. In contrast, in the United States, school life guidance counselors, school counselors, and school psychologists provide professional help to resolve students' emotional, social, and behavioral problems. Japan has formed expert teams consisting of education committee staff, teachers in special classes or integrated guidance classrooms, general classroom teachers, psychology experts, and doctors to establish a cooperative student counseling system. The solution already exists, but ultimately, it comes down to budget. The government must view youth suicide prevention measures not as costs but as investments. Only then can we prevent extreme choices among teenagers and secure the future of our society.

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