SPOTLIGHT 25/09/03 Korean Catholics expand outreach to tackle record suicide rates

[성기화 요셉]

Church-led initiatives are reaching bereaved families, training activists, and educating youth

A suicide prevention activist gives a lecture on suicide prevention for students. (Photo: One Mind One Body Movement)

By UCA News reporter

Published: September 10, 2025 12:11 PM GMT

Updated: September 10, 2025 12:32 PM GMT

The head of a Catholic church-run mental health group in South Korea says suicide prevention programs have saved many from taking their own lives, as the nation sees a rise in suicide-related deaths.

“Many who were contemplating giving up on life find renewed strength through participating in suicide prevention programs,” said Father Kim Soo-gyu, director of Seoul Archdiocese’sOne Mind One Body Movement.

“The most crucial element in suicide prevention is not systems or statistics, but people. In the midst of despair, the presence of just one person who listens can become hope,” Kim emphasized.

On each day of 2024, nearly 40 people (39.5) committed suicide, pushing the country’s suicide rate to a 13-year high, the Korea Foundation for Respect for Life and Hope and Statistics Korea said in a preliminary report in March.

At least 14,439 people committed suicide in 2024, the highest since 2011, when 15,906 people took their own lives.

By gender, men were more than twice as likely to die by suicide as women, and those in their 50s accounted for 21 percent of suicide cases, making it the age group most prone to suicide.

The report said that the most significant year-over-year increase was among those in their 30s, at 11.6 percent.

Among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations, South Korea has the highest suicide rate.

In a report published on Aug. 4 by the National Assembly, five factors related to the rising suicide rate were identified.

The report said the inability to detect early warning signs, timely linkage to welfare services, and an increased acceptance of suicide as an option are among other reasons.

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health and financial stability is also among the reasons it listed.

Church-run initiatives

The Church-run Suicide Prevention Center, located at the One Mind One Body Movement headquarters, carries out various activities promoting respect for life.

The center has organized initiatives such as the “Respect for Life Campaign,” the “Rosary Prayer Campaign to Convey Comfort,” and the suicide prevention fundraising campaign “Reach Out, Spring, Open Your Heart,” to care for those in need.

The center also strengthens its suicide prevention efforts through youth awareness initiatives, spirituality-centered education for priests, religious, and laypeople, and training programs for suicide prevention activists.

One of the center’s notable initiatives is a “Mobile Mental Care Program,” wherein suicide prevention activists, who are also practicing artists, meet individuals in crisis and attempt to heal their pain through conversation and creative activities.

The center also runs pastoral programs for bereaved families of suicide victims. These initiatives are gradually increasing in numbers.

The center also holds Mass and operates care programs annually on Nov. 23, which is observed as the International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.

Beyond the center, South Korean dioceses and religious orders nationwide are also organizing various programs for bereaved families.

* This is a translated and edited version of the report that was published by the Catholic Times of Korea on Sept. 3.