630 suicides reported among elementary to high schools students over past 4 yrs: education ministry

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- A total of 630 elementary to high school students took their own lives over the past four years, due mainly to family feuds, an education ministry report showed Thursday.

According to the report submitted to Rep. Kim Byong-wook of the People Power Party, 388 high school students died by suicide between 2018-2021, followed by 216 middle school students and 26 elementary school kids.

Family feuds and parental abuse were the reason behind 196 of the suicide cases reported, followed by unknown reasons at 191 cases, academic performance problems at 116 cases and mental issues at 94 cases. The other causes included relational and economic issues.

"The current consulting system for students needs to be further reinforced so that students can have timely help for issues involving family or academic performance and overcome crisis situations," the lawmaker said.

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