Number of daily deaths in S. Korea reaches 672 in 2008: report

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- The average number of daily South Korean deaths
reached 672 in 2008, up by one from the year before, a government report showed
Sunday.
According to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO), there were a
total of 246,113 deaths tallied for the whole of last year, up by 1,239 compared
to the year before.
It said of all deaths, roughly half were due to cancer, cerebrovascular disease
and heart-related illnesses. It added an average of 12.7 people lost their lives
as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
Cancer accounted for 28.0 percent of all deaths in the cited year, followed by
11.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, for cerebrovascular and heart
diseases. Lung, liver and stomach cancer were the three main types of cancer
tallied.
Suicide made up 5.2 percent of all deaths, followed by complications derived from
diabetes, with traffic deaths and liver-related diseases accounting for 2-4
percent of all deaths.
The NSO's latest findings said that while death decreased across the board in
terms of age groups, there was a slight increase among people in their 20s.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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