President Lee Jae-myung on the 28th said, "It may be a subject that is hard for the public to feel, but the sharp drop in the number of suicides is the most meaningful and the greatest among our administration's many achievements."
That morning, Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag (#) "suicide suicide suicide suicide," writing, "What could be more precious than a human life." He added, "I express deep gratitude and commendation to the prime minister, the overall person in charge, to the relevant public officials, and to those engaged in related work, and I ask you to redouble your efforts."
However, "There is still a long way to go. We need to cut the current number of suicides by half," he said, adding, "Practical response measures such as personnel, organization, and budget are important, but the most fundamental measure is to build a hopeful society, and at its core is improving people's livelihoods, namely the issues of making a living." He continued, "This is why it was the most urgent task for the government to focus on the economy and people's livelihoods and to turn around the economic growth rate, which is falling into the 0% range."
The suicide issue is a matter Lee has mentioned multiple times in public since taking office, including at Cabinet meetings and government briefings. In particular, Lee's consistent directive is that there must be no cases where debtors take their own lives because they cannot repay their debts. The financial authorities' implementation of so-called "inclusive finance" policies, such as the write-off of "long-term arrears claims," is part of this effort.
At a Cabinet meeting in June, Lee also told Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eog-weon, "If someone is on the verge of death because of debt, in fact that person cannot repay," and instructed him to set up a special body to identify and help those without repayment capacity. On the controversy over "moral hazard" and reverse discrimination against diligent payers, he said, "It is impossible to intentionally not pay while enduring for years not being able to get a job, open a bank account, or engage in economic activity."