Suicide Is the Number One Cause of Death for South Korean Kids

By Greg Scoblete
May 03, 2013

South Korea's youth are killing themselves in record numbers.

Suicide was the leading cause of death for South Koreans aged 15-24, according to a new report. That's 13 suicides for every 100,000 people in this age group -- up from 7.7 in 2001.

According to the Korea Herald, the country's suicide rate has been on the rise since the 1990s.

Not only are Korean youth killing themselves in greater numbers, there are also fewer of them. Young people (ages 9-24) accounted for 20 percent of the country's population in 2013, the lowest it's been since data was collected starting in 1970 (when the country's youth population represented 35 percent of overall numbers).

(AP Photo)

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