The Role and Future Tasks of the National Assembly Suicide Prevention Forum-Focusing on the Legislative Content of Suicide Prevention Laws

Objective In South Korea, there were 12,906 suicides in 2022. This number is 4.7 times higher than the number of traffic accident deaths—i.e., 2,753—in the same year. Suicide is so serious that it is the fifth leading cause of death in South Korea. We would like to discuss how the National Assembly Suicide Prevention Forum was established, what role it has played in preventing suicide, and what role it should play in the future. Methods We will look into the representatives and lawmakers who made up the National Assembly Suicide Prevention and summarize the topics of seminars conducted in each period. Results Through the establishment of the National Assembly Suicide Prevention Forum in 2018, which is referred to hereafter as the “Forum,” various efforts have been made to garner the attention of government ministries, which has led to an increase of 6.7 times in the budget for suicide prevention compared to 2017. With the launch of the forum, private organizations that had previously been working independently in their own fields were able to come together and speak with a unified voice. The formation of the Forum has brought the issue of suicide, which had previously been buried in the dark corners of our society, to the forefront as a social problem, and it has provided an impetus for seeking solutions. Conclusion In the 22nd National Assembly of South Korea, the National Assembly Suicide Prevention Forum is expected to play a more prominent role, which is expected to lead to substantial achievements in suicide prevention.