South Korea’s suicide rate increased in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday, with higher rates seen for people in their 20s and those aged 70 and above.

The number of suicides for every 100,000 South Koreans was 26.0 in 2021, up 0.3 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The rate among males aged 70 and above came to 81.8 in 2021, up from 79.5 recorded the previous year. As for females, the rate for the same age group came to 25.7, also up from 24.6 tallied a year earlier.

South Korean men aged between 20 and 29 posted a suicide rate of 27.1 in 2021, up from 23.8 in 2020. Over the period, the rate for females in the same age group rose from 19.3 to 19.6.

The country has the highest suicide rate among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. South Korea topped the list with 25.4 suicides per 100,000 people in 2019. (Yonhap)