"95% of Suicide Victims Send Warning Signs, but Only 22.8% of Families Recognize Them"

It was found that 95.1% of suicide victims send warning signs to their families, but only 22.8% of families recognize these signals.

On December 5, Gyeonggi Provincial Government released the results of a study titled "Analysis of Suicide Risk Factors and Response Strategies Based on Psychological Autopsy Data in Gyeonggi Province."

This study, conducted jointly with the Korea Suicide Prevention Center from June to November, analyzed 289 suicide victims in the province out of 1,250 nationwide cases that underwent psychological autopsy between 2015 and 2024.

A psychological autopsy refers to a systematic investigation and analysis of the psychological and social factors that influenced the final period of a suicide victim's life.

The survey found that among the 289 cases, 59.2% were male and 40.8% were female. By age group, 32.5% were young adults, 35.0% were middle-aged, and 24.9% were older adults.

It was confirmed that complex risk factors were the main cause, with 65% of victims experiencing four or more stressors such as mental illness, financial difficulties, relationship issues, and physical health problems before death.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

In particular, 95.1% of victims showed "warning signs" indicating they were thinking about or intending to commit suicide before their deaths, but the recognition rate among bereaved families was only 22.8%. Among those who recognized the signs, 46.8% were unable to take any action. This highlights the need for early detection of high-risk groups and stronger linkage to support services.

Based on these findings, Gyeonggi Provincial Government held the first meeting of the "Gyeonggi Province Suicide Prevention Task Force" on December 4.

The task force was formed with the First Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs as its head and suicide prevention officer, and included relevant provincial departments, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, NongHyup, Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, and experts in preventive medicine, clinical psychology, and sociology, focusing on discussing implementation strategies for suicide prevention policies.

Kim Sungjoong, First Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Suicide is a preventable social crisis and a warning sign of policy blind spots. Gyeonggi Province will establish a proactive prevention system to detect residents at risk early and strengthen tailored support based on psychological autopsy data."