SEOUL, Aug. 3 -- Nearly 10 South Koreans aged 65 and above died by suicide each day between 2019 and 2023, according to a new medical study in the Journal of the Korean Medical Association.

A total of 18,044 people in that age group took their own lives during the five-year period; this works out to more than 3,000 deaths every year, The Korea Herald reported today.

The study was authored by Dr Oh Dae-jong, assistant professor of the Workplace Mental Health Institute at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

According to the study, the suicide mortality rate among South Koreans aged 65 and older stood at 40.6 per 100,000 in 2023.

This was 45 per cent higher than the rate of 28 recorded among those aged 15 to 6...