Suicide rate of people in 20s alarms

With suicide behind nearly half of all deaths for those in their 20s, the government appealed Tuesday in a white paper for assistance to be ramped up for young people struggling with employment and other problems.

The 2013 white paper on suicide, adopted at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, said 27,858 people committed suicide last year, down 2,793 from the previous year and below 30,000 for the first time in 15 years. The report cited National Police Agency data.

However, the data also showed suicides among people in their 20s related to failure to secure jobs more than doubled to 149 in 2012 from 60 in 2007. The white paper said suicides in this age bracket are increasing due to problems at work, including fatigue, errors and personal relations.

The white paper sees a strong link between suicides and the unemployment rate, and called for comprehensive economic measures to cap their number.

A health ministry study conducted in 2011 showed that suicides accounted for 47 percent of deaths among people in their 20s.

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