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Seven in 10 Korean people suffered mental health problems last year, including extreme stress and depressive thoughts, according to a National Center for Mental Health survey released Wednesday.

The latest survey showed that the issue has worsened, with the ratio of people suffering from mental health problems having increased by nearly 10 percentage points compared to the previous survey conducted in 2022.

The center, under the direct control of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, began the survey in 2016 to offer basic insights to help devise policies to improve people's mental health. The survey has been conducted every two years since 2022.

The latest survey was conducted online from February to May and targeted 3,000 people aged 15 to 69.

In the survey, 78.8 percent of the respondents said that they have been trying to maintain a sound mind in their everyday lives, but 73.6 percent still said that they have suffered mental health issues for the past year, up 9.7 percentage points from 63.9 percent reported in the 2022 survey.

Among them, the percentage of individuals experiencing extreme stress increased from 36 percent to 46.3 percent, while those suffering from depressive thoughts lasting several days saw an increase from 30 percent to 40.2 percent.

Those who suffered from smartphone or internet addiction rose to 18.4 percent from the 2022 figure of 6.4 percent, while those who thought about taking their own lives went up from 8.8 percent to 14.6 percent.

When experiencing mental health problems, 49.4 percent — the highest proportion — asked for help from family members or relatives, followed by 44.2 percent who visited medical professionals and 41 percent who talked to friends.

People's perceptions toward mental illnesses differed between statements.

Over 90 percent of the respondents agreed that anyone can get such illnesses, up from the 83.2 percent figure reported in 2022, while 61.4 percent said a mental disease is a kind of disturbance in the brain, up from 49.3 percent. These findings indicate that perceptions are improving.

On the other hand, 50.7 percent said some of their friends would shun them if they were to get a mental illness, up from 39.4 percent in the previous survey. The ratio of those who said people with mental illnesses are more dangerous than others has also slightly increased to 64.6 percent from 64 percent. These findings indicate that the perception has worsened.

"There should be more active education that mental health problems require medical treatment and that early discovery of the diseases is very important," Kwak Young-sook, the center's president, said.