Korea's coast guard has had 367 officers killed or injured on duty in three and a half years, and eight suicides, yet its psychological care budget has stayed flat for three years. Rep. Yoon Jun-byeong analyzed data from the Korea Coast Guard.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, data that Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong received from the Korea Coast Guard show 367 officers were killed or hurt on duty from 2023 to June this year: three deaths and 364 injuries. The yearly counts were 98 in 2023, 121 in 2024, 110 in 2025 and 38 in the first half of this year. Harsh sea conditions were the leading cause of injury, at 241 cases.
광고 문의 · 300×250Eight officers died by suicide in the same period: four in 2024, two in 2025 and two this year. Trauma from disaster scenes and the stress of isolated shipboard duty were cited as causes. Five more officers are classed as at high risk of suicide.
The Today-an added that besides the 241 cases tied to sea conditions, injuries came from rescue and distress response (45), training (45) and special maneuvers such as cracking down on illegal fishing boats (33). Both field response and drills carry risk.
Counseling up, budget unchanged
Individual counseling under the Mind Care Program rose from 4,295 sessions in 2023 to 4,431 in 2024 and 5,216 in 2025, with 3,080 through July this year. Yet the program's budget, covering counseling, medical cost aid and healing camps, has stayed at about 447 million won from 2024 to this year. The Today-an reported that the forest healing program fell from 120 million won to 85 million won, a cut of about 30 percent, while participants dropped from 430 in 2023 to 137 through July.
Yoon criticized the freeze, saying officers exposed to grim scenes suffer serious PTSD as well as physical injuries and that tying or cutting budgets as demand rises is a dereliction of state duty. He urged more counseling for officers on islands and ships, who have limited access, and a rebuilt system for treatment and early intervention. The Coast Guard's official position was not included in the two outlets' reports.