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Suicide has been the leading cause of death among Korean youth for 14 consecutive years since 2011, claiming more than three times as many young lives as safety accidents have in 2024. According to youth statistics released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday, the number of deaths among those aged 9 to 24 stood at 1,749 in 2024. Suicide was the leading cause at 10.9 deaths per 100,000, followed by safety accidents at 3.3 and cancer at 2.6. A Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency survey of 54,170 middle and high school students last year found that more than one in four, or 25.7 percent, reported experiencing feelings of depression in the past year. The number of people aged 9 to 24 stands at 7.4 million this year, accounting for 14.4 percent of the total population, down 46.5 percent from four decades ago. Students from multicultural backgrounds, by contrast, are on the rise. The number of such students in elementary, middle and high schools surged 145 percent from 82,536 in 2015 to 202,208 last year, now accounting for 4 percent of all students. Students also