Anchor: The government proposed radical changes to the mental health system on Tuesday in a bid to reverse South Korea's long-standing suicide trend that tops the charts for OECD nations. From more intensive check-ins to more frequent checkups, the new policy is the first step in the administration’s goal of halving the nation’s suicide rate.
Tom McCarthy explains what is being done about this long standing issue. 

Report: Mental health policies will undergo a drastic reconstitution as the government seeks to shed the country’s reputation of having the highest suicide rate among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The policy plan was revealed in a meeting chaired by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday, with a focus on providing psychological counseling to one million people by the end of his term.

Such services will first be provided to 80-thousand medium- to high-risk people next year, a demographic that includes those who attempted suicide and their family members as well as individuals for whom intervention by medical or welfare institutions is deemed necessary.

The policy is a concerted effort by the government to double the utilization of mental health services from 12-point-one percent in 2021 to 24 percent by 2030. 

In order to detect red flags among young adults aged 20 to 34, regular mental health checkups will be provided every two years instead of ten and include screenings not only for depression but schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well.

In July, training on suicide prevention and education on the issue will become mandatory in a bid to increase public awareness as the government seeks to slash in half last year's suicide rate of 25-point-two per 100-thousand people over the next decade.

In announcing the plan, President Yoon said the national prioritization of mental health is long overdue in order to resolve an issue that should not be faced alone.

He pledged to institute a system that increased the accessibility of professional counseling for employees and students alike as the country takes steps to invert its number-one suicide ranking and bottom-ranking happiness index.
Tom McCarthy, KBS World Radio News.