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Mayor Park Heong-joon Declares 2026 as the “First Year of Respect for Life”: Advancing Community-Based Suicide Prevention Measures

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“All suicides are social murders!”

Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it held the “2026 First Year of Respect for Life Suicide Prevention Measures Briefing,” chaired by the Mayor, at 10:00 a.m. today (17th) in the Grand Conference Room on the first floor of City Hall, declaring this year as the First Year of Respect for Life and promoting community-based suicide prevention measures.

As of 2024, approximately 14,000 people die by suicide annually in Korea, maintaining the unfortunate distinction of having the highest suicide rate among OECD countries.

In Busan as well, 989 people lost their lives to suicide in the same year, with a suicide rate of 30.3 per 100,000 population—higher than the national average.

In response to this social crisis, the City, under the strong commitment of Mayor Park, launched a dedicated task force for suicide prevention measures at the end of last year, headed by the Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, and has been developing comprehensive citywide strategies.

This briefing marked the first step of those efforts, aimed at sharing the severity of the suicide crisis—one of Korea’s chronic social issues—with the local community and seeking solutions together with key regional stakeholders.

At the briefing, the City presented its suicide prevention measures, sharing the direction and framework for systematic policy implementation. It also established the “Busan Life Respect Network,” a public-private cooperation body involving representatives from 12 participating sectors, to discuss practical measures.

The network—comprising the City, City Council, education sector, religious groups, media, medical sector, economic sector, civic organizations, national movement groups, and others—issued a joint declaration to protect the daily lives of citizens, adding further significance to the initiative.

In addition, 16 districts and counties participated, sharing exemplary frontline practices and reviewing future measures.

Under the vision of “A Connected City Without Isolation, A Happy Busan Where Life Thrives,” the City will fully implement three major strategies, seven key tasks, and 30 detailed projects this year.

To support this, the City will significantly increase the direct budget for suicide prevention projects from KRW 3.2 billion last year to KRW 7.2 billion this year, aiming to create a turning point in reducing the suicide rate.

First, under Strategy 1: “Connection,” the City will focus on revitalizing the “With Busan” community by building a dense community safety net.

Through the establishment of integrated governance, the City will strengthen cooperation across the community, centered on the dedicated task force and the newly launched Busan Life Respect Network. It will also build a coordinated response system by linking support institutions for vulnerable groups—such as the Financial Welfare Support Center and Employment Welfare Plus Center—with suicide prevention centers.

To prevent social isolation and expand participation, the City will implement field-oriented projects, including the “Busan Life-Link Living Area Project” covering 80 towns, training approximately 300 “Busan Life-Link Practitioners,” and establishing a mental health self-check system accessible anywhere, enabling early identification and response to high-risk groups.

Second, under Strategy 2: “Prevention,” the City will strengthen tailored responses by cause of suicide, as major causes include mental health issues, economic and livelihood problems, and physical illness.

To enhance mental health crisis management, the City will strengthen early intervention and treatment linkages through measures such as early intervention for alcohol-related issues, improving consent rates for notification upon discharge of psychiatric patients, and expanding mental health counseling voucher programs.

To mitigate economic and livelihood risk factors, the City will connect existing economic and welfare support policies—such as financial welfare consulting, support for financially vulnerable groups, youth credit recovery assistance, and support for small business stabilization and recovery—to prevent economic crises from leading to suicide.

To strengthen care safety nets for the elderly, who face higher suicide rates due to illness and loneliness, the City will enhance cooperation with comprehensive support centers for older adults living alone and expand integrated care-based health management services.

To protect the mental health of children and adolescents, recognizing that suicide is a process in which risks accumulate and that 68% of youth suicide causes are mental in nature, the City will implement systematic support programs both inside and outside schools to build foundational mental resilience early.

Third, under Strategy 3: “Protection,” the City will ensure rapid and professional intervention and continuous follow-up management for high-risk groups—including bereaved families of suicide victims, suicide attempters, and individuals with mental illness—to protect the golden time in crisis situations.

Starting in July this year, the City will implement a one-stop support service for bereaved families, dispatching dedicated personnel to the scene within 24 hours of an incident and providing integrated counseling, legal, and administrative support. It will also expand emergency response centers from four to five and strengthen cooperation with fire and medical institutions, reducing hospital selection time for suicide attempters with intoxication from 34 minutes to around 7 minutes. In addition, it will operate a 24-hour mental health emergency response center and secure 12 public mental health emergency beds at all times to facilitate prompt treatment.

Mayor Park emphasized, “Over the past five years, Busan Metropolitan City has steadily promoted the ‘15-minute city’ policy. The very process of building a city where people connect with one another, support each other’s lives, and create a warm community is already an important foundation for suicide prevention.”

He added, “Declaring the First Year of Respect for Life and pursuing a vision of connection, prevention, and protection is a promise that all of Busan will work together to address the issue of suicide. Busan Metropolitan City will be the first to reach out when citizens walk through the dark tunnels of life.”

“If you are experiencing difficult emotions such as depression or know a family member or acquaintance facing such challenges, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling through the Suicide Prevention Hotline ☎109 or the Suicide Prevention SNS Counseling ‘Madlen.’”