SEOUL – The rate of suicide among South Korean children and teens rose last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, data from the statistical office showed.

The suicide rate per 100,000 people under the age of 17 stood at 2.7 in 2021, up from 2.5 a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

After rising from 1.2 in 2000 to 2.6 in 2009, the youth suicide rate declined to 1.4 in 2015 before advancing from 2.1 in 2019 to 2.5 in 2020, and to 2.7 in 2021.

The upward trend was attributed to the so-called “corona blue”, or depression that was partly triggered by the social distancing rules designed to curb the pandemic.

The suicide rate for those aged 15 to 17 slipped from 9.9 in 2020 to 9.5 in 2021, but the rate for those aged 12 to 14 surged from 3.2 to 5.0 in the same period.

The suicide rate per 100,000 people for those under the age of 17 who suffered child abuse reached a record high of 502.2 in 2021, a sharp rise from 401.6 in the previous year.

This came about as children and teen stayed at home longer during the pandemic. XINHUA