The Life Insurance Philanthropy Foundation said on the 9th that its SOS Lifeline phones handled 10,606 crisis counseling cases over roughly 15 years, with 2,515 of them referred to emergency rescue services.
The foundation released the figures ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on the 10th, covering the period from July 2011 through June this year. In the first half of this year alone, 188 counseling calls were received and 120 were referred to the 119 emergency rescue service, twice the number in the same period a year earlier.
The SOS Lifeline connects callers to professional counselors 24 hours a day, year-round. When a crisis is confirmed, counselors work with the 119 water rescue squad and other agencies to arrange an immediate on-site response. First installed on Mapo Bridge and Hannam Bridge in 2011, the service now operates 75 units on 20 Han River bridges.
In May, the foundation installed an SOS Lifeline outside the Han River bridges for the first time, at Seoul Forest. Another unit is scheduled to open next month at Maeheon Citizens' Forest. "Based on the counseling experience accumulated on Han River bridges, we have installed a new urban mental health counseling phone," a foundation official said.
Alongside the crisis counseling service, the foundation runs philanthropic programs for people who have attempted suicide and for bereaved families, groups classified as being at high risk. Those programs assisted 10,357 people from 2016 through June 2026.
"For 15 years, the SOS Lifeline has connected countless calls for help to professional counseling and rescue," said Jung Woo-chul, standing director of the foundation. "We will work to ensure the foundation is present whenever suicide prevention is needed, not only for crisis response on bridges but also for support for those who have attempted suicide and for bereaved families."
