Help Line Responds ① Unanswered Calls for Help: "Please Save Me"

Editor's Note = On the occasion of Suicide Prevention Day, the government and local governments are emphasizing the value of respecting life. But are calls for help reaching those in crisis properly? News S will examine the suicide prevention counseling system in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, the status of legal obligation compliance, and response disparities between central and local governments over three parts.

One out of every two calls saying "please save me" fails to reach a counselor.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province on the 13th, last year the Mental Health Crisis Counseling Hotline (1577-0199) in the capital area received a total of 119,446 counseling calls.

Of these, counselors received 60,531 calls (50.7%). The remaining 58,915 calls (49.3%) were recorded as 'unprocessed.'

1577-0199 is a mental health crisis counseling hotline that handles not only mental health issues such as depression and anxiety but also suicide crisis counseling. When you call the nationwide identical number, you are connected to a basic or metropolitan mental health and welfare center closest to your location, and during nighttime and holidays, you are connected to a metropolitan mental health and welfare center.

Among the capital area, Gyeonggi Province had the lowest response rate.

Last year, 1577-0199 in Gyeonggi Province received 37,486 calls. Of these, 13,913 calls actually led to counseling, with a response rate of only 37.1%. For every 10 calls, fewer than 4 resulted in actual counseling.

The low response rate has continued for several years.

Gyeonggi Province's response rate was 43.6% in 2018, 50.7% in 2019, and 46.6% in 2020, before dropping below 40% to 39.4% in 2021. Subsequently, it remained in the 30% range for four consecutive years: 38.3% in 2022, 33.6% in 2023, 35.9% in 2024, and 37.1% last year.

From 2018 to last year, a total of 258,365 calls came to Gyeonggi Province. Of these, 104,698 calls (40.5%) led to counseling, while 153,667 calls (59.5%) were unprocessed.

The counseling hotline operated by Gyeonggi Province has 2 lines, with 4 counseling staff members per day.

In the case of Seoul, of the 55,619 calls received last year, 30,533 actually led to counseling. The response rate is 54.9%.

Seoul's response rate was 51% in 2018, 51% in 2019, 48.5% in 2020, and 55.8% in 2021. It dropped to 42.4% in 2022 and 41.6% in 2023, before rising to 56% in 2024.

Seoul operates the most lines among the three municipalities and provinces in the capital area with 21 lines, and 21 counseling staff members work in three shifts.

Incheon had the highest response rate in the capital area, but even so, 4 out of 10 calls ultimately failed to connect.

Last year, Incheon's incoming call volume was 26,341 calls, of which 16,085 led to counseling, resulting in a response rate of 61.1%.

Incheon's response rate was 59.3% in 2022, 58.1% in 2023, 55.7% in 2024, and 61.1% last year.

Incheon assigns 1 counseling staff member on 1 line during weekday daytime hours, 3 staff members on 2 lines during weekday nights. On holidays, 4 staff members work during both daytime and nighttime hours.

Ultimately, last year in the three metropolitan authorities in the capital area, of the 10 calls to 1577-0199, approximately at least 4 failed to result in counseling.

The bigger problem is that how many unprocessed calls there are is not even being grasped nationwide.

Through information disclosure requests, News S confirmed the operational status of 1577-0199 across all 16 metropolitan authorities nationwide. It was found that only the three capital area regions—Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon—were compiling total incoming calls and unprocessed call volumes.

The remaining 13 metropolitan authorities were not grasping how many calls came in or how many of those failed to result in counseling.

However, 1577-0199 is not a hotline exclusively for suicide crisis. It also handles mental health counseling such as depression and anxiety, as well as mental health information and medical institution guidance. Therefore, not all 58,915 unprocessed calls in the capital area can be considered calls from citizens in suicidal crisis.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health and Welfare operates 1577-0199 as a mental health crisis counseling hotline handling suicide crisis counseling, and is coordinating it with the suicide prevention hotline 109. However, the ministry has not presented separate adequacy standards or evaluations regarding the response rate of 1577-0199.

A ministry official said, "1577-0199 is a hotline operated by local mental health and welfare centers. Call connection issues in local areas are not something the ministry can directly control."

전시언 취재편집부문 대표 yourside@suwonilbo.kr