Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare has told reporters that 15,000 people a year kill themselves in South Korea. This means the country has the highest suicide rate of any developed nation in the world. Another 100,000 people end up in hospital after trying to commit suicide. Every day, about 43 Koreans take their own life. The Ministry said that the biggest reason is stress at school or work. Other reasons include loneliness, and the sadness when another family member commits suicide. A church official said the high rate is a danger to Korean society because the country's birth rate is so low. He said: "If the high suicide trend continues, the whole society could find itself on the edge of a cliff."

This growing problem is made worse because of copycat behaviour when a celebrity commits suicide in Korea. Research shows that the suicide rate jumps around 30 per cent in the two months after a celebrity suicide. News reports of a star's suicide can result in 600 Koreans ending their own life. Many people say television is to blame because it spends too much time reporting on news of suicides and this gives people the idea they too can end their life. The Korea Times newspaper said the government should do more to help people. It said: "To lower the suicide rate, Korea should become a more compassionate and caring society even at the expense of a slower-growing economy."