Only 35% of suicide claims recognized as work-related, while fewer than half of hotline calls answered

Illustration of depression (123rf)
Illustration of depression (123rf)

Claims to have suicides recognized as work-related deaths rose by a third over six years, government data showed Tuesday. But the share of claims accepted fell sharply.

Bereaved families filed 80 such claims in 2025, up by a third from 60 in 2019, according to Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service data obtained by Rep. Park Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

The number of cases recognized as work-related deaths fell from 35 to 28 over the same period. The share of claims accepted dropped from 58.3 percent to 35 percent.

Claims involving female workers nearly tripled from six to 17, while those involving male workers increased from 54 to 63.

The average time taken to process a claim marked 157.7 days in 2025.

“Applications for industrial accident recognition in suicide cases continue to rise, but the current assessment system does not adequately reflect the multiple causes of suicide, including workplace bullying, excessive workloads and work-related stress,” Park said.

He called for an overhaul of the system and more realistic criteria for determining whether a suicide was work-related.

More than half of hotline calls go unanswered

Separate data showed that calls to national suicide prevention counseling services nearly doubled from 176,864 in 2022 to 352,914 in 2025.

Only 167,080 calls, or 47.3 percent, were answered last year, according to Ministry of Health and Welfare data obtained by Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party.

The answer rate fell from 62 percent in 2022 to 55.7 percent in 2023. It edged up to 56.7 percent in 2024 before dropping below half last year.

The three-digit 109 suicide prevention hotline was launched in January 2024, consolidating several previously operated counseling numbers.

Heo attributed the missed calls partly to staff shortages at the two government-run counseling centers.

The larger of the two centers, which can employ up to 100 counselors, had 74 at the end of 2025, down from 89 a year earlier. A second center that opened in October had 30 counselors by the end of the year.

“The centers are not even staffed to their authorized capacity, so simply expanding that capacity will not solve the problem,” Heo said.

The ministry said maintaining full staffing was difficult because recruiting and training counselors takes time and some positions are temporarily left vacant when employees take leave.

It plans to increase the number of counselors across the two centers to 200 by the end of October. The ministry has also pledged measures to reduce counselor burnout and use artificial intelligence to assist with administrative work, including counseling records.

Preliminary government estimates put South Korea’s suicide rate at 27.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025, down from 29.1 in 2024.

Using age-standardized figures for international comparison, Korea recorded 26.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. That was the highest among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and 2.4 times the OECD average of 10.8.

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* If you’re thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s helpline at 109, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please request a translator for English-language services.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com