Breaking News English

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

This growing problem is made [worsen / worse] because of copycat behaviour when a [celebrity / celebration] commits suicide in Korea. Research shows that the suicide rate [jumpers / jumps] around 30 per cent in the two months after a celebrity suicide. News reports [at / of] a star’s suicide can result in 600 Koreans [ending / ended] their own life. Many people [speak / say] television is to [blame / flame] because it spends too much time reporting on news of suicides and this [makes / 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 / low] the suicide rate, Korea should become a more compassionate and caring society even at the [expensive / expense] of a slower-growing economy.”