Senior counselors to tackle suicide prevention through elderly employment program

The Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute signed an MOU with the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention on Wednesday at the foundation's office in Jung-gu, Seoul, to advance suicide prevention efforts through elderly employment programs and promote a culture of respect for life, the institute announced Thursday.

The two organizations signed the agreement to expand the workforce in the suicide prevention sector through senior employment programs and to address staffing shortages in the suicide prevention response system, including the suicide prevention counseling hotline 109.

Under the MOU, the two organizations plan to build a cooperative framework spanning several areas: collaboration on elderly employment and suicide prevention projects, research on senior suicide and its prevention, and support for post-incident response systems when a suicide death occurs within either organization.

The "senior suicide prevention counselor" program will be run as part of a senior skills utilization project, placing experienced counselors in roles handling low-risk and non-crisis cases. Ten counselors are set to be recruited in early September.

The institute has been expanding the role of senior employment in suicide prevention, including operating a "senior building safety and harmful environment inspection team" in partnership with the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention to monitor environments that may pose suicide risks.

"Suicide prevention is an important social challenge that the entire community must address together," said Kim Su-young, president of the Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute. "Through this agreement, we will work closely with the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention to ensure that the experience and capabilities of older adults are more actively utilized on the front lines of suicide prevention, strengthening the community safety net and enhancing the social value of senior employment."