The South Korean government has finalized the Third Mental Health Welfare Master Plan (2026–2030), a five-year blueprint for mental health policy. The plan elevates mental health from a matter of individual responsibility to a national social safety net, establishing a comprehensive system spanning prevention, treatment, recovery and independence.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the plan on Tuesday after deliberation by the Health Promotion Policy Review Committee, under the vision of "a society where body and mind are healthy together." The plan comprises six major areas — prevention, treatment, recovery, addiction, suicide response and infrastructure reinforcement — with 17 core tasks and 53 detailed initiatives.
The government undertook a sweeping overhaul because mental health indicators are deteriorating rapidly. According to ministry data, three out of four citizens experienced mental health issues such as stress and depression over the past year, and one in four has experienced a mental illness during their lifetime. The number of drug offenders in their 20s rose from 2,118 in 2018 to 7,515 in 2024. The suicide rate per 100,000 people among teenagers increased from 4.5 to 8.0 over the same period, while the rate among those in their 20s climbed from 17.8 to 22.5.
The first pillar of the plan is strengthening a nationwide mental health safety net. The government will bolster psychological counseling for high-risk groups experiencing depression and anxiety, suicide attempt survivors and disaster victims, and introduce home-visit and non-face-to-face counseling. For young adults, mental health risk groups will be identified early through national health checkups and military service medical examinations, with first-visit medical fee subsidies and psychological counseling vouchers provided. School-based counseling and emergency response teams will also be expanded for children and adolescents.
Treatment infrastructure will be significantly expanded. Regional psychiatric emergency medical centers will increase from 10 currently to 17 by 2030, public hospital beds from 130 to 180, and acute-phase intensive care beds from 391 to 2,000. Joint response centers — where mental health professionals and police respond together — will grow from 10 to 18.
The government will also reform the inpatient treatment environment. Regular monitoring to minimize the use of seclusion and restraint will be institutionalized, along with improvements to protective room conditions, strengthened staffing standards and training in non-coercive treatment. For involuntary hospitalization, the government plans to conduct pilot programs covering patient transfers and treatment cost support, completing institutional reforms by 2030.
Recovery and independence support for people with mental illness will also facilitate community-based transitions. Government-supported housing units for people with mental illness will increase from seven this year to 100 by 2030. Salary subsidies for peer support workers will expand from 88 to 300 people, and peer support rest centers will grow from seven to 17 nationwide.
Addiction response focuses on expanding treatment and rehabilitation systems centered on drugs and alcohol. The number of designated drug treatment and protection facilities will double from nine to 18 by 2027, and the government is reviewing the designation of specialized addiction treatment clinics for mild cases. However, the ministry explained that quantitative targets for the addiction sector have not yet been established.
In suicide prevention, the plan strengthens emergency room-based case management systems and Life Love Crisis Response Centers, and expands psychological autopsy coverage to include adolescents. An AI monitoring system for suicide-inducing information will be established, and one-stop support services for families bereaved by suicide will be expanded nationwide.
"Depression and anxiety are something anyone can experience," Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Hyun-hoon said. "We will reduce social stigma so people can receive empathy for their emotional pain, and build a robust mental health safety net so they can receive treatment with ease."