Gyeonggi Province Activates 'Youth Life-Saving Regional Safety Network Council' to Prevent Teen Suicide

Gyeonggi Province and related agencies are launching a continuous cooperation system to prevent teen suicide. On the 24th, Gyeonggi Province held the '1st Youth Life-Saving Regional Safety Network Council' at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office.

In line with the government's 'Comprehensive Government Initiative to Prevent Teen Suicide,' the council aims to establish an integrated governance system in the local community, overseen by a suicide prevention director (Vice Governor of Administration) and led by the Gyeonggi Province Office of Education.

Participants shared concerns that the mental health indicators of youth in Gyeonggi Province have reached alarming levels. They agreed that swift and precise intervention is urgently needed to address the diversifying youth crises, particularly the increasing suicide rate among female adolescents, the lowering age of suicide risk, and mental health issues among isolated, reclusive, and out-of-school youth.

Participants then discussed key priorities including △establishing institutional response systems for youth suicide and self-harm crises and sharing information △early detection of at-risk youth both inside and outside schools △rapid referral of high-risk youth to counseling and treatment facilities △joint response measures during emergencies △strengthening recovery and follow-up care after suicide attempts.

In particular, participants decided to continuously operate a proactive mental health prevention system centered on the Office of Education and close counseling and healing infrastructure support, while establishing an inter-agency joint crisis response cooperation system led by Gyeonggi Province to continuously reduce service gaps that may occur in the referral and coordination process between institutions.

Yoo Young-chul, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Health and Wellness Bureau (Vice Chair of the Council), said, "Protecting the precious lives of youth is only possible when the entire local community becomes one solid safety net and works closely together. We will regularly operate working-level meetings to ensure that the Office of Education's professional counseling infrastructure and the emergency response systems of health, medical, fire, and police agencies work together organically so that not a single child is overlooked or neglected."