South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung took to X to beg citizens of his country not to end their lives amidst a market crash.
The President quoted a tweet addressing the rate at which people end it all and he added: “We must live. You have to live somehow. If it’s hard, please call 109. In fact, Gil will help you find reasons to live together.”
President Lee Jae-myung also spoke at a cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on October 13.
Regarding the rate at which youths are ending their lives, President Lee Jae-myung said, “I believe we may need redoubled efforts unlike anything we have seen before,” adding, “We must seek strong, new measures to address academic stress, excessive competition, and bullying.”
At a cabinet meeting he presided over at Cheong Wa Dae that day, President Lee made the remarks, saying, “I understand that people taking their lives decreased by more than 10% in the first half of this year, and in particular, those who took their own lives for economic reasons fell by nearly half. This is truly praiseworthy.”
However, he noted that while the rate at which people end it all is “declining overall”, the rate of youths ending their lives “is said to have actually increased slightly.”
President Lee stated, “Excessive competition in our society is a source of national competitiveness, but there may have been a lack of attention to relational issues within it,” adding, “It is also important to strengthen interaction, communication, and emotional connection in schools.”
He also emphasized, “Unlike in the past, relationships between teachers and students also tend to be growing harsh. As parents complain about teachers’ discipline, there is reportedly a tendency to avoid intervening whenever possible, but this is also not something to be left unattended,” stressing, “Rather than managing it at the current level, a fundamental and structural approach is needed.”
He repeatedly urged, “If we have so far copied what exists in other countries or made minor adjustments to existing policies, we now need to drastically change our direction.”
He also expressed his stance on strengthening “inclusive finance.”
President Lee explained, “The Financial Services Commission has done unprecedentedly well by carrying out extensive debt write-offs and extinguishing delinquent claims, but from what I see, it is still far from enough.”
He added, “Private moneylenders or debt collection agencies tend to harass people to collect money (when loans are taken out), and we also need to delve deeply into this issue.”
He continued, “(It would be good) to enable people who have become credit delinquents and cannot find jobs to carry on with their daily lives, and to provide them to a certain extent with opportunities to work, such as through ‘national jobs.'”
