South Korea seeks to curb rising suicide rate

Suicide rate on the rise in South Korea

　　South Korea may make farm chemicals less toxic and install more fences on the tops of tall buildings in order to cut down on the high suicide rate .

　　Actress Jeong Da-Bin and pop singer Yuni, two high-profile young women with successful careers, were both found hanged in the past few weeks, sparking concern in South Korea, which has the highest suicide rate of all Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members.

　　Having seen its suicide rate double in less than a decade, the country will also set up more counseling centers and try to increase awareness of the risks of depression, according to a health official.

　　"Also as a part of the campaign, we want to remove harmful Internet sites that may encourage suicide as well increase the number of our cyber counseling sites for young people, who favor this type of service," said ministry official Kim Gwon-chul.

　　In 2004, 24.2 South Korean per 100,000 citizens killed themselves, making suicide the fourth leading cause of death in the country, ahead of traffic accidents. There were 12,047 deaths by suicide in 2005.

　　South Korea's suicide rate is higher than Japan's and about double that in Canada, Norway or the United States, the government said.

　　One reason behind the increase in suicides may be a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots in South Korea, with poorer citizens more likely to kill themselves than the affluent, according to government data.

　　韩国可能得降低农药的毒性、在高楼的顶层多安装一些围栏，以减少其高自杀率。

　　韩国两位年轻成功女艺人--演员郑多彬和流行歌手Yuni几星期前上吊自杀身亡，引起了韩国政府的担忧。据统计，韩国的自杀率为经合组织成员国中最高。

　　据一位卫生官员介绍，韩国的自杀率在不到十年的时间里翻了一番，因此韩国政府打算成立更多的咨询中心，提高人们对抑郁症风险的认识。

　　卫生部官员金权澈说："此外，我们打算查封一些误导人们产生自杀念头的有害网站，同时增开一些受年轻人欢迎的在线咨询网站。"

　　2004年，每10万个韩国人中有24.2个人自杀，这使自杀超过交通事故，成为韩国的第四大死因。2005年，韩国的自杀死亡人数达到12047人。

　　据政府统计，韩国的自杀率高于日本，约为加拿大、挪威和美国的两倍。

　　据有关数据显示，韩国自杀率增长的原因之一可能是不断扩大的贫富差距，较穷的人自杀的可能性要高于较富裕的人。

　　Vocabulary:         

　　suicide rate : 自杀率

 

来源：英语点津