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In South Korea, over 600,000 reports of online content that could encourage or facilitate suicide were filed in 2025, but 70% of these reports remained online by the end of the year, according to data from the Health Ministry. This category of reports includes posts seeking suicide partners, content encouraging suicide, and information on obtaining or using potentially lethal materials.
The number of reports has more than quadrupled from 142,725 in 2021. In 2025, only 176,163 of the reported items, or 29.2 percent, had been removed by year-end. Social media accounted for 525,643 reports, with X responsible for 99.9 percent of them. Online communities had the lowest removal rate; of the 73,036 reports involving community posts, only 4,132, or 5.7 percent, resulted in removal.
The government had only one official dedicated to monitoring such content through 2024. Staffing was increased to four in September 2025, while the annual budget rose from 30 million won ($21,900) in 2024 to 207 million won this year. The removal rate improved to 45.1 percent in the first half of this year, but more than half of reported content remained online. Beginning November 12, online platforms will be required to immediately remove or block suicide-inducing information they identify and restrict its search and transmission. The government also plans to introduce round-the-clock monitoring using artificial intelligence.