A study released Monday by the Ministry of Education shows that nearly 1 in 10 primary and secondary students have emotional problems and are in need of counseling.

According to the survey of more than 2.11 million students conducted between May and July, 7.2 percent, or 152,640 students, were classified as “needing attention,” while 2.2 percent, or 46,104 students, were diagnosed as “needing priority care.”

The “needing attention” group refers to those who have some form of emotional disorder and require counseling, and those in the “priority care” group have thought of committing suicide at least once and require intensive treatment, the ministry said.

By age, the rate of those “needing attention” was highest for middle school students at 11 percent, followed by high school students at 9 percent and elementary students at 3.4 percent.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)