Preventing Suicide

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea has topped the list of OECD member-nations in terms of suicide rate for 13 years. The Korean government has unveiled a set of measures aimed at curbing the nation's suicide rate.

[Pkg]

This woman's mother took her life about 30 years ago. But even after so many years, the family's shock and devastation remain as strong as ever.

[Soundbite] Kang Myung-soo(Bereaved Family) : "Social bias is very strong. I am afraid that people may blame other family members for what happened in my family. I can't tell anyone about this. That's the most tormenting part."

The government has been trying to deal with the high suicide rate from the standpoint of society rather than as an issue that involves individuals and their families. First off, the government will conduct a poll on some 70,000 suicides of the past five years. The purpose of the poll is to find out through an analysis of police investigation records why those people committed suicide, what kind of personalities they had and where they lived. It's a kind of "psychological autopsy," which produced positive effects in Finland. Based on the results of the poll, the government will dispatch one million trained public officials, social workers and local administrators as "life guards." In addition, people who are over 40 will be advised to test themselves for depression every ten years, and receive health insurance benefits when they need to treat their depression symptoms.