[Herald Business=Reporter Cha Min-joo] The government held the Cheonmyeong Keeper launch at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul on the 24th to roll out a nationwide suicide-prevention policy.At the event, officials appointed life ambassadors and designated institutions as Cheonmyeong Protection Offices to lead the effort. Organizers also presented a talk concert and cultural performances.
The Cheonmyeong Keeper Project is a governmentwide initiative led by the Life Protection Task Force aimed at reducing annual suicide deaths by 1,000 by 2026. After cutting the number of suicide deaths from 14,872 in 2024 to an estimated 14,150 last year, officials are targeting 13,150 this year.
To reach that goal, leaders from various fields will serve as life ambassadors, and 44 institutions will act as Cheonmyeong Protection Offices to promote messages that value life and to design and implement suicide-prevention programs.
Specifically, 20 individuals and teams will serve as life ambassadors, including singer HYNN (Park Hye-won), NCT’s Doyoung, Mad Clown, Han Roro, Hwasa, the group Highlight, the band YB, actors Kim Young-ok and Yang Dong-geun, Venerable Beomjeong, Dr. Oh Eun-young, and lecturer Jeong Seung-je.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok thanked participants at the appointment ceremony and urged them to help spread the message of respecting life.
In his remarks, Kim said, \"Two meaningful statistics caught my eye in the past few days: one, the birth rate has risen slightly over the past few months; and two, the suicide rate has fallen over the past two months. I don't know if this will continue, but I hope the trend holds.\"
He added, \"Through our discussions, I realized that loneliness lies at the heart of choosing to end one's life. People leave this world because they are lonely, and they often go alone. I believe the solution to suicide lies in easing that loneliness and sharing the burden. We need social safety nets and mental health safety nets.\"
The Life Protection Task Force has focused on reducing suicide deaths by identifying seven priority groups—men in their 50s; young adults in need of respite; seniors; adolescents; residents from northern regions; military personnel; and entertainers—and by building field-centered safety nets. It has also managed progress and evaluated policy effects through monthly hotline meetings between suicide-prevention centers and the task force.
According to the national statistics portal, there were 916 provisional suicide deaths in February, a 17.8% drop from 1,114 in the same month last year.
\"Although these figures are provisional, we view them as a positive sign,\" a task force official said. \"We will continue to work with life ambassadors and private organizations.\"
