Gov't enlists religious leaders in new bid to combat Korea's suicide crisis

Seeking to address Korea’s persistently high suicide rate, the government and several major religious organizations on Monday signed an agreement regarding respect for life and suicide prevention, vowing to coordinate efforts to provide hope, compassion and support for people in despair. The agreement came as Prime Minister Kim Min-seok convened the first government–religious community roundtable at his residence in Seoul, bringing together representatives from various faith groups, including the United Christian Churches of Korea, the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Central Headquarters of Won-Buddhism, and the Jogye Order. Kim underscored the significance of the event as a first step toward establishing a regular, sustainable framework for cooperation between the government and religious leaders on major social issues. The initiative begins with suicide prevention as the first item on the group's shared agenda. Korea’s long-running public health crisis worsened last year. According to Statistics Korea’s 2024 report on causes of death, 14,872 people died by suicide inWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times