Suicide is a policy area where preventive measures are effective and crucial. However, suicide risk factors are diverse, encompassing psychological state, circumstances, and socioeconomic environment. It is important to identify the various and complex social factors that can affect suicide and incorporate them into the planning and implementation of suicide prevention measures. This study explored suicide factors in Korea, considering sociodemographic, economic, environmental, and individual conditions. We identified the increasing old-age population and one-person households as relevant social conditions and the social network as a crucial factor. The recent economic slowdown and worsening
inter-class inequality merit looking into, as they are likely to lead to negative perceptions about future conditions. Groups at risk of drug addiction and those particularly vulnerable to climate change are identified as needing proactive policy interventions. Technological advancement is considered a condition likely to contribute to reducing the suicide rate.
Social conditions affecting suicide change, and their effects vary over time. Depending on how social conditions change, policy measures targeting at-risk groups may need to be expanded or reduced, and the management approach for each of those target groups may need to evolve accordingly. There is a need for continued monitoring of groups at risk of suicide, identifying in a proactive manner whom to target with policy interventions, and designing stepwise policy approaches tailored to the needs of specific target groups.
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