South Korea: South Korea's health ministry and a journalist association on Wednesday released revised reporting guidelines on suicide news amid the rising number of people taking their own lives in the country. The revised guidelines propose refraining from reporting suicide cases as the top principle to prevent potential copycat suicide attempts, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Journalists Association of Korea.According to Yonhap News Agency, Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo emphasized the importance of these changes by stating, "If we change how we report on suicide cases, we can save precious lives." He also urged individual social media accounts and blogs to adhere to the new guidelines. The guidelines further advise that when coverage of suicide cases is unavoidable, news reports should avoid providing details of the methods or motives involved and should respect the dignity of the victim as well as the surviving family members.South Korea has the highest suicide rate among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 2020, the suicide rate in South Korea stood at 24.1 per 100,000 people, significantly higher than the OECD average of 11.3. Last year, 13,770 people took their own lives in South Korea, marking a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year, according to government data.
- October 12, 2026
