"A Society Where Everyone Protects Everyone"... 43 Public and Private Institutions Issue Joint Declaration on Life Respect

8th Public-Private Council on Life Respect Policy
Sharing the National Suicide Prevention Strategy

With last year's suicide rate reaching its highest level in 11 years, the government and various social institutions have issued a joint declaration to build a society that values life.

Declaration of Joint Commitment to Protect Life

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Hope announced on September 30 at the Samjung Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, that they held the "8th Public-Private Council on Life Respect Policy" and proclaimed a joint commitment to create "a society where everyone protects everyone, and where safeguarding life becomes a daily practice in Korea."

The Public-Private Council on Life Respect Policy, launched in 2018, includes not only six government ministries-the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the National Police Agency-but also 37 private organizations from religious, business, labor, media, and academic sectors. The council is co-chaired by Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Eun-kyung and Choi Jong-su, the head of Sungkyunkwan.

The joint declaration includes statements such as "Life is the most precious value that we must all protect together," "Any act that threatens life cannot be tolerated for any reason," and "Suicide must never be glorified or justified under any circumstances."

On this day, the government reported to the council its "2025 National Suicide Prevention Strategy," which sets goals such as reducing the number of suicide deaths to below 10,000 within five years and overcoming the stigma of having the highest suicide rate among OECD countries within 10 years. The council also reviewed and discussed a wide range of ongoing activities by religious, business, labor, media, academic, and partner organizations, including fostering a culture of life respect, suicide prevention counseling, education and public awareness, and the implementation of suicide prevention projects.

Lee Hyunghoon, the Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, "The Declaration of Joint Commitment to Protect Life adopted today is an important milestone toward building a society safe from suicide," adding, "If the government and private sector work together, we can create a Korea where everyone protects everyone and safeguarding life becomes a daily practice."

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