• Journal of Legislation Research
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• no.44
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• pp.689-723
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• 2013

Suicide is Korea's first leading cause of death in their twenties and thirties. at a rate of 31.2 per 100,000 in 2010. The Korea suicide rate is over twice higher than OECD's average rate. Because of this reality the suicide prevention act(full title, the Act on Prevention of Suicide and Creation of Culture that Respects Life) was enacted in 2011. In 2008, the Korean government planned the suicide prevention programs to decrease the incidence of suicide to approximately 20 per 100,000 by the end of 2013. Despite the plan the suicide rate in Korea has increased to over 30 per 100,000 since 2009 and the plan was proved to be failed. Consequently, the government was unable to lower the suicide rate in last decade. It has shown that the reduction of suicide rate is a difficult and complex problem. This study shows that the root cause of suicide is based on social and legal exclusion and proposes that suicide prevention measures should be aimed at social cohesion and legal protection.