system. Although the people’s demand for welfare is gradually expanding, it is necessary to increase the level of welfare by examining whether various welfare systems to protect the socially underprivileged are working. 4) Trends in Suicide Rates and Problems with the Suicide Prevention System A) Trends in Suicide Rate in Korea and the National Suicide Prevention Policy For 20 years, from 2000 to 2021, a total of 275,027 people died by suicide in Korea. Korea’s suicide rate in 202059) is 25.7 (4.4% decrease from the previous year), which is a decrease from 2011 (31.7), when the suicide rate was at its peak. However, the suicide rate in 2021 increased slightly to 26.0, and compared to the age-standardized suicide rate among member countries of the OECD,60) it is still the highest at 23.6 (OECD average of 11.1).61) The Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention published the ‘2022 Suicide Prevention White Paper,’ and added that “it is premature to make positive predictions regarding the achievement of reducing the suicide rate in 2020.”62) Korea's suicide rate was one of the lowest among OECD member countries in the ‘80s and ’90s, but it has more than doubled in the 10 years since 2000.63) After 2011, when the suicide rate was the highest, the ‘Act on the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of Culture of Respect for Life’ (Suicide Prevention Act for short) was enacted, and the Central Suicide Prevention Center in 2012 and the Suicide Prevention Policy Committee were established in 2019. A national suicide prevention plan has also been established in the form of a five-year plan since 2004. Social measures are also being implemented, such as research to identify high-risk groups for suicide, establishment of public-private networks, dissemination of “suicide reporting guideline” by the media, and suicide prevention campaigns. In 2022, the Suicide Prevention Act was amended to allow police and firefighters to provide the 59) Suicide Rate: Number of deaths from intentional self-harm (suicide) per 100,000 people 60) Suicide rate calculated by standardization with the standard population of OECD member countries by removing differences in age structure between countries or over time for international comparison 61) Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention, ‘2022 Suicide Prevention White Paper,’ See Statistics Korea, 2021 Result of Cause of Death Statistics, Sept. 2022. 62) Ministry of Health and Welfare Press Release, Jun. 14, 2022. 63) No, Jin-seop, What happened to Korea, where the suicide rate increased by 100% in 10 years?, Sisa Journal, No. 1773, May 2022. 28