South Korea to conduct biennial mental health check-up for young people

SEOUL – The South Korean government said that it has decided to administer a regular mental health check-up for those aged between 20 and 34, starting in 2025, as part of the state-run national health examination programme.

According to South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, the current programme, which provides a mental health exam once every 10 years, will be expanded.

From 2025, young South Koreans will have access to an assessment once every two years.

“Only 12.1 per cent of Koreans and 16.2 per cent of young Koreans use mental health services. By reducing the period between tests, we seek to reduce the untreated period for mental illness and allow a prompt diagnosis and treatment after the initial symptoms,” the ministry said on Oct 17.

In addition to the existing tests for depression, the national check-up will also look out for early stages of other mental conditions to ensure that they are treated early.

Those who display symptoms will be referred to the relevant medical institutes for further diagnosis.

The ministry will also provide means for consistent treatment and management of the mental conditions.

Reports have indicated a substantial increase in mental health issues among young South Koreans.

A January report by the state-run Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service showed that just over a million people were treated for depression in 2022, the first time the figure has surpassed the million mark.

What is more significant, however, is how rapidly the number of young mental patients in South Korea has grown.

In 2017, patients in their 20s and 30s accounted for 23.4 per cent of the 680,000 mental patients.

This percentage rose to 35.9 per cent in 2022, with the actual number of patients more than doubling from 159,000 to 350,000. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK