Cancer died last year, 24% of the total... Breast cancer in their 40s, liver cancer in their 50s, and lung cancer in their 60s or older.

Cancer ranked first as the cause of death last year, with breast cancer in their 40s, liver cancer in their 50s, and lung cancer in their 60s and older.

The death toll stood at 352,511 last year, down 24,428 from a year earlier, according to 2023 cause-of-death statistics released by the National Statistical Office.

The three major causes of death were cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia, accounting for 41.9% of all deaths.

24.2% of all deaths died from cancer, up 2.5% year-on-year.

The mortality rate was highest in the order of lung and liver cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and stomach cancer.

By age group, breast cancer in their 40s, liver cancer in their 50s, and lung cancer in their 60s and older had the highest mortality rate.

Those in their 40s have the highest breast cancer mortality rate for two consecutive years.

As for the cause of death by age group, intentional self-harm was found in the teens and 30s, and cancer was the number one in the 40s.The rate of intentional self-inflicted deaths of

was 27.3 per 100,000, up 8.5% from a year ago, in the order of 60s, 50s, and teens.

The National Statistical Office analyzed that suicide rates in their 60s and 50s increased due to growing economic difficulties after COVID-19.

Compared to the age-standardized suicide rate among OECD countries, Korea had 24.8, the highest level compared to the OECD average of 10.7.