The share of people who experience a mental illness at least once in their lifetime has topped 1 in 4. The government said it will manage mental illness across the life cycle and expand regional psychiatric emergency medical centers, where people can receive treatment 24 hours a day, nationwide.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 27th that the Health Promotion Policy Deliberation Committee deliberated and approved the Third Basic Plan for Mental Health and Welfare (2026-2030). The plan is established every five years for the prevention and treatment of mental illness.
According to the ministry, lifetime prevalence of mental illness rose from 24.7% in 2011 to 27.8% in 2021. The share of people who experienced mental health issues such as stress and depression over one year increased from 63.8% in 2022 to 73.6% in 2024. Medical expenses for mental illness climbed from 4.1 trillion won in 2015 to 7.7 trillion won in 2024. The social expense caused by mental illness was found to reach 12.9 trillion won.
The ministry will support national mental health management with the goal of a society healthy in body and mind. For children and adolescents, it will expand the Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics Test and the Mind EASY Test. These are screening tools to identify students in crisis that let them check their mental health status at any time and get help. It will detect students' anxiety, depression, and emotional and behavioral problems early and connect them with specialized institutions.
It will expand the deployment of professional counseling personnel to all schools. Emergency support teams, in which psychiatrists and others visit schools to intervene for students in crisis, will increase from 56 last year to 100 in 2030. It will also operate an emergency support system that can intervene when cooperation from guardians is difficult. It will screen young people vulnerable to mental health issues through national health checkups and military service physical examinations and support their first psychiatric consultation fees and psychological counseling.
It will operate an integrated psychological support unit so mental health can be managed at disaster sites. After returning home, people will be able to receive treatment at trauma specialty hospitals. Regional trauma centers will be expanded from four last year to 17 in 2030.
It will increase emergency rooms where psychiatric emergency patients and suicide attempters can receive treatment with confidence. Regional psychiatric emergency medical centers, where psychiatry and emergency medicine provide collaborative care to offer 24-hour treatment regardless of trauma, will be expanded from 13 last year to 17 in 2030. Public beds at general hospitals capable of treating both psychosis and physical problems will rise from 130 in the same period to 180 in 2030.
In addition, it will minimize isolation and restraint and create a human rights-friendly treatment environment. After discharge, home visits and telephone counseling will continue on an ongoing basis. It will promote vocational rehabilitation programs and job-and-experience pilot projects so the people concerned can participate in economic activity. It will prevent addiction to drugs and other substances and strengthen treatment and rehabilitation.
The suicide prevention hotline (109) will adopt technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze meaning and detect warning signs early. It will establish a Mental Health Policy Committee (tentative name) for a pan-government joint response. Each local government will designate a suicide prevention officer to oversee suicide-related work. Vice Minister Lee Hyeong-hoon of the ministry said, "Depression and anxiety are something anyone can experience," adding, "We will create a safety net where people can receive empathy for the pain in their hearts and get treatment comfortably."