The number of elementary, middle and high school students who died by suicide in South Korea reached 244 last year, the highest figure since the Ministry of Education began compiling the data. Student suicides have risen nearly 65% over the past five years.
A total of 244 students took their own lives nationwide last year, according to parliamentary audit data submitted by the Education Ministry to Rep. Kim Moon-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, on the 13th. The total included six elementary school students, 92 middle school students and 146 high school students.
The figure is one more than the 243 the ministry disclosed in June when it announced a government-wide plan to prevent suicide among teenagers. The ministry said one additional case was added while it finalized data collected from provincial and metropolitan education offices.
Last year's total rose by 23 cases, or 10.4%, from 221 in 2024, a record high. Compared with 148 in 2020, the figure climbed by 96 cases, or 64.9%, in five years.
Student suicides jumped from 148 in 2020 to 197 in 2021, then edged down to 194 in 2022. The number topped 200 for the first time in 2023 at 214, before rising again to 221 in 2024 and 244 last year.
By region, Seoul, Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do posted the steepest increases. Seoul recorded 51 student suicides last year, up 11 cases, or 27.5%, from 40 in 2024. Compared with 22 in 2020, the figure rose by 29 cases, or 131.8%.
Busan reported 22 cases last year, more than three times the seven recorded in 2024 and double the 11 in 2020. Gyeongsangnam-do logged 25 cases, up five, or 25.0%, from a year earlier and 3.6 times the seven counted in 2020. Over the same period, Gangwon-do rose from three to nine cases and Chungcheongnam-do from three to 14.
Gyeonggi-do, the province with the largest student population, saw its total fall to 51 last year from 63 in 2024, a decline of 12 cases, or 19.0%. That was the lowest level since 2021 but still above the 38 recorded in 2020.
Four regions reported fewer student suicides last year than in 2020: Jeju, which fell from two to one; Jeollanam-do, from seven to five; Jeollabuk-do, from eight to five; and Chungcheongbuk-do, from three to two. Incheon, with 12 cases, and Ulsan, with three, matched their 2020 totals.
Family problems, psychiatric issues, pressure over schoolwork and career paths, and difficulties in personal relationships all contributed to the deaths, the data showed.
Family problems were the most frequently cited cause last year, accounting for 77 cases, according to the ministry data. Psychiatric issues followed with 58 cases, problems related to schoolwork and career paths with 54, and difficulties in personal relationships with 38. The cause could not be determined in 79 cases. Because a single case can involve multiple factors, the sum of the causes exceeds the total number of student deaths.
Schoolwork and career pressure was the suspected cause in 54 cases, more than 20% of all student suicides.
The government unveiled the government-wide plan to prevent suicide among teenagers in June, setting a goal of halving the suicide rate among people in their teens by 2035. Experts say families, schools, local governments and the central government must work together to reduce student suicides. They also call on education authorities to strengthen the response system in schools by identifying at-risk students early and expanding suicide prevention education and professional counseling staff.
