How AI Is Helping Save Lives on Seoul's Bridges
Warning: This video includes discussion of suicide. Artificial intelligence is becoming a new tool in suicide prevention in South Korea. Along Seoul's Han River, AI-powered security cameras monitor for behaviors that may indicate someone is at risk of jumping, allowing emergency crews to respond within minutes. Officials say the rescue rate has risen dramatically since the system was introduced. While experts say early intervention can save lives, they also stress that long-term mental health support remains essential as South Korea and Japan continue to grapple with high suicide rates.
Dozens of bridges cross the Han River in Seoul. Looking over those bridges are hundreds of security cameras equipped with AI... able to detect people that look like they're going to jump.
The river is a common site for suicides in South Korea, where the suicide rate is one of the highest in the world... with about 29 deaths per 100,000 people.
But with these cameras installed since 2021, surveillance specialists say they've been able to get to those in need, faster... and improve their rescue rate.
KIM JUN-YOUNG, CHIEF, HANGANG BRIDGE CCTV INTEGRATED CONTROL CENTER (Seoul)
The role of the AI is to first detect all moving objects within the bridge. It then distinguishes whether they are people or not. If an object that has been identified as a person performs a certain action, a popup screen like this is displayed to our operators.
Emergency crews are usually able to reach those people within five minutes, talking them down and getting them help... and the rescue rate has gone up from 56 percent in 2012... to 99 percent now.
KIM JUN-YOUNG, CHIEF, HANGANG BRIDGE CCTV INTEGRATED CONTROL CENTER (Seoul)
Some people say, "Why stop someone who wants to die? It's their personal freedom, so why interfere?" But that's not how we see it. We believe it could be a wrong decision, so we want this to serve as a tool that gives them a chance to stop and think one more time before making that choice.
Japanese company Asilla is developing a behavioral analysis system like the one used in Seoul. Cameras hooked up to its AI tool can detect suspicious behavior... like people entering normally unoccupied areas or standing on rooftops.
SUZUKI YUKA, CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER, ASILLA (Tokyo)
Security and station staff use this tool to monitor people's behavior -- to keep an eye on people who may be in trouble such as when they collapse or fall, or to detect signs of what is likely to happen next by identifying certain movements.
But getting to the site early is not always enough... In 2025, cameras on 17 bridges along the Han River detected more than 1,200 potential crisis situations... but Kim from the control center says about eight people could not be saved.
And Asilla's chief product officer points out that preventative mental health help could be even more useful to bring down the suicide rate.
As South Korea and Japan grapple with high-stress societies... these cameras are just one tool for emergency officials to use... to reach those in need.
