hankyoreh

South Korea's suicide rate was the highest among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last year, a government report said Monday.

According to the report compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO), 26.1 out of every 100,000 South Koreans committed suicide last year, a sharp increase from 11.8 people in 1995.

"The high suicide rate in South Korea seems to reflect a surge in social conflicts, including feuds between the sexes, economic hardship and domestic violence," an NSO official said.

When age-related factors are taken into consideration, South Korea's suicide rate came in at 24.7 last year, followed by Hungary with 22.6 and Japan with 20.3. The corresponding figures for the United States and Germany were 10.2 and 10.3, respectively, according to the office.

The statistics also showed suicide as the No. 4 cause of death in South Korea. Of 246,000 deaths last year, 12,047 cases were reported as suicides. The death rate translates into an average of 33 people a day taking their lives.

Last year's suicide rate was even higher than the 19.9 suicides per 100,000 people in 1998, when the country was suffering from the Asian financial crisis.

Suicides rose among senior citizens who had not fully prepared for old age and were not properly supported by their children, the NSO said.

Cancer remained the No. 1 cause of death last year, accounting for 26.7 percent of all deaths, or 65,000 people.

It was followed by cerebrovascular diseases and cardiovascular ailments such as strokes, with 12.7 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively.

The three leading diseases account for 47.3 percent of all deaths, the report showed.

The fifth-leading cause of death in 2004 was diabetes, and liver ailments came sixth.

The leading causes of death for people in their 20s and 30s were drowning accidents and murders, while cancer and cardiovascular disease took a greater toll than other causes for people aged 40 or older. For people younger than 19, the leading cause of death was drowning accidents, according to the report.
Seoul, Sept. 18 (Yonhap News)