Seoul AI cameras help lift Han River bridge rescue rate above 99%, official says

AI-powered cameras on bridges over Seoul's Han River are helping first responders reach people who may be about to jump, with the rescue rate over the river rising to more than 99 percent, a control centre official said.

Kim Jun-young, chief of the Hangang Bridge CCTV Integrated Control Center, said the system alerts emergency teams when someone lingers in certain places, enters an unsafe area or picks up a suicide-prevention phone on a bridge.

Kim said the rescue rate had risen from 56 percent in 2012. He said emergency crews can reach most bridges within five minutes, which he described as the critical window for intervention.

Last year, nearly 900 cameras on 17 bridges identified more than 1,200 incidents, Kim said. About eight people could not be saved, he said.

The Han River AI system has been operating since 2021. South Korea still faces a wider suicide crisis, with government figures showing the suicide rate in 2024 climbed above 29 deaths per 100,000 people, the highest level since 2011.

Government figures show suicide is the leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 49 in South Korea.

Yoo Jae-hyun, director of suicide prevention at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, said academic pressure, heavy workloads and social attitudes around failure can make it harder for people to cope with setbacks or seek help. He said Koreans in their twenties account for the largest share of people treated in emergency rooms after suicide attempts.

Similar AI surveillance tools are also being used elsewhere. Japanese company Asilla says its system can detect unusual behaviour, including falls or signs that someone may be preparing to jump from a height. Its chief product officer, Yuka Suzuki, said the technology is not meant to replace humans and cannot reduce Japan's suicide rate alone.