According to a recent study by the civic group Human Rights Solidarity 인권연대, over the two decades between 2004 and 2023, 241 people committed suicide while under investigation by prosecutors and police - a rate of approximately one suicide every month.
While prosecutors investigate roughly one-fifth as many criminal cases as police, the study found that 163 people committed suicide while under investigation by prosecutors, whereas 76 people committed suicide while under investigation by police. There was a 50% higher rate of such suicides under conservative administrations, for an average of 1.2 suicides per month under conservative presidencies, versus 0.8 per month under liberal presidencies.
Human Rights Solidarity conducted this study in response to the death of Lee Seon-gyun 이선균, a well-known actor who appeared in the Oscar-winning Parasite 기생충, among other films, who had been under investigation for drug use. (See previous coverage, “Lee Seon-gyun Dies at 48.”) The civic group said new laws were necessary to curb the abusive investigative practices of police and prosecutors.