Jung Yun-soon, chairwoman of the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Kim Hyun-jun, president of the Korea Social Security Information Service, pose for a photo after signing an MOU to advance evidence-based, tailored suicide prevention policy using social security data, at the foundation's office in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday. [Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention]
Jung Yun-soon, chairwoman of the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Kim Hyun-jun, president of the Korea Social Security Information Service, pose for a photo after signing an MOU to advance evidence-based, tailored suicide prevention policy using social security data, at the foundation's office in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday. [Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention]

The Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention signed an MOU with the Korea Social Security Information Service on Friday to advance evidence-based, tailored suicide prevention policy using social security data, the foundation said.

The agreement aims to build a foundation for data-driven suicide prevention policy by linking and combining data held by both organizations, and to produce policy outcomes that the public can tangibly feel.

Under the MOU, the two organizations plan to jointly build and use health and welfare data related to suicide, conduct joint data-based analysis and collaborative projects, and jointly promote results and disseminate outcomes.

The two agencies plan to pseudonymously link social security data with records on suicide deaths to analyze the welfare service usage, duration and characteristics of those who died by suicide — helping identify the traits of high-risk groups and actively applying those findings to policy development.

They also plan to verify the need for cross-linked analysis between social security data and suicide death records, and to establish a data-driven support framework for suicide prevention policy.

"This MOU will serve as an important starting point for improving the accuracy and efficiency of suicide prevention policy grounded in scientific analysis and data," foundation chairwoman Jung Yun-soon said. "We will work closely with the information service to build a data-based suicide prevention policy support framework and contribute to protecting the lives of the public."

If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare's helpline 1393, available 24/7. Please request a translator for English-language services.


thlee@heraldcorp.com