Relationships between suicide and three economic factors in South Korea

Inoue, Ken; Nishimura, Yukika; Nishida, Atsushi; Fukunaga, Tatsushige; Masaki, Mina; Fujita, Yoshitsugu; Nata, Masayuki; Okazaki, Yuji; Ono, Yuichiro

doi:10.1016/j.legalmed.2009.11.002

« Previous Next »Legal Medicine
Volume 12, Issue 2 , Pages 100-101, March 2010

Relationships between suicide and three economic factors in South Korea

Ken Inoue
- Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
- Corresponding author. Address: Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, 1-98, Dengakugakubo, Kutsukake-cho, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan. Tel.: +81 562 93 2453; fax: +81 562 93 3079.
Yukika Nishimura
- Department of Psychiatry, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie 514-8507, Japan
Atsushi Nishida
- Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, Tokyo 156-8585, Japan
Tatsushige Fukunaga
- Tokyo Medical Examiner’s Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 112-0012, Japan
Mina Masaki
- Warakukai Incorporated Medical Institution, Aichi 453-0015, Japan
Yoshitsugu Fujita
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa 216-8511, Japan
Masayuki Nata
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Sciences, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie 514-8507, Japan
Yuji Okazaki
- Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital, Tokyo 156-0057, Japan
Yuichiro Ono
- Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Aichi 470-1192, Japan

Received 6 October 2009; received in revised form 27 October 2009; accepted 5 November 2009. published online 01 February 2010.

Abstract

The number of suicides in South Korea totaled 4840 in 1995 and 8569 in 1998; in Japan, suicides totaled 21,420 in 1995 and 31,755 in 1998. Suicide prevention is an important issue for both South Korea and Japan. In South Korea, factors related to the increase in suicides must be clarified, and specific suicide prevention measures must be promptly discussed in order to decrease the number of suicides. Therefore, this report examined suicide and unemployment rates and increased rates of mining and industrial production and of money supply in South Korea from 1990 to 2002. This report also discusses the relationships between suicide and unemployment rates and increased rates of mining and industrial production and increased rates of money supply during the same period.

During the period studied, annual suicide rates ranged from 7.1 to 18.3 per 100,000 populations. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the suicide rate was clearly related to the unemployment rate, but the suicide rate was not related to increased rates of mining and industrial production and increased rates of money supply. Thus, when unemployment rates increase, relevant organizations and the community should pay close attention to the increase in suicide rates.

Keywords: Suicide, South Korea, Unemployment, Factor