A statue of a man comforting another person, set up to prevent suicide attempts on Mapo Bridge, is seen in Seoul, Sept. 10, 2023. More than 96 percent of people who take their own lives had shown some types of warning signs before their deaths, according to an in-depth analysis released on Tuesday. Yonhap

More than 96 percent of people who take their own lives had shown some types of warning signs before their deaths, according to an in-depth analysis released on Tuesday.

The report, compiled based on the results of the investigations into 1,099 suicide cases and interviews with 1,262 bereaved family members, shows that 96.6 percent of the people who killed themselves had displayed unusual behavioral patterns. But only 23.8 percent of them were recognized as serious warning signs by their friends or families, it added.

The publication of the report comes at a time when the government is stepping up efforts to lower the country's rate of suicide, the leading cause of death among Korean teenagers and those in their 20s and 30s.

One of the most commonly observed warning signs was a change in things they talk about prior to their deaths, with 63.3 percent talking about wanting to die or other death-related topics more frequently than before, and about half of them displaying other verbal patterns such as constant self-deprecating expressions or more frequent complaints about their physical challenges.

Other common signs include a change in routine regarding when and how to sleep or what to eat, as well as becoming indifferent to their appearances, harming themselves with drug abuse or other means and suddenly attempting to put their personal affairs in order by, for example, fixing broken relationships.

The report shows nearly 65 percent of those who died by suicide were men. On average, they were 44.2 years old. One-person households accounted for 19.2 percent of the total. It appears that the level of their incomes was one of the major factors that led them to the tragedy, given that people who earned less than 1 million won ($750) a month accounted for 46.5 percent.

Generally, people living alone are at greater risk of suicide as they have a higher poverty rate than multi-person households, the report shows. Single-person households' average stress level, estimated at 15.3 percent, was also higher than multi-person households' 8.7 percent.

Importantly, the report also highlighted the fact that the tragedies caused by suicide almost always spread to other family members they leave behind.

A poll in the report shows 98.9 percent of bereaved family members went through physical or psychological changes after the suicide of their loved ones, with more than half saying it caused them to contemplate their own suicide.

"Learning about those warning signs is part of the suicide prevention education that became a mandatory program in July," Lee Hyung-hoon, director of the ministry's mental health department, said. "Families, friends and colleagues need to be aware of these warning signs from suicidal people."

Last month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the Cabinet approval of its new rule mandating students as well as workers at state-run institutions and hospitals to undergo training in self-harm prevention.

Under the rule, administrators of these organizations have to create a training program for self-harm prevention and offer it at least once a year to students and employees, either in person or online.

All this is part of the government's expanded efforts to lower the country's suicide rate from 25.2 per 100,000 people to the OECD average of 10.6 within the next 10 years.

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide, contact Korea's Suicide Crisis hotline at 109. For foreign language assistance to connect with mental health professionals, call Danuri Portal's helpline at 1577-1366.