Public mixed on petition for helping injured tourist at the Grand Canyon

Park has been brain dead since he fell off a cliff at the Grand Canyon last month. / Yonhap

By Jung Hae-myoung

Whether the government should financially support an individual who fell from a cliff at the Grand Canyon and is currently in a coma is drawing a mixed reaction.

On Dec. 30, 2018, a 25-year-old man surnamed Park fell off the cliff and was transferred to a hospital. Although he survived physically, he is still unconscious.

His medical bill at the Flag Staff Medical Center is now over 1 billion won ($ 885,347), and his family wants him to be brought back to Korea, which will cost an additional 200 million won.

“If the duty of citizen is to do their duty to the state, the state's responsibility is to protect its countrymen, even one,” stated a post written by Park's uncle on the Cheong Wa Dae website for a petition which has received more than 19,000 signatures.

However, the post faced a huge backlash with people saying the government should not provide any financial support.

Some showed sympathy, but a large number argued the fall was Park's own fault and his family should bear the responsibility, not the country. They argue only the victims of terrorism or natural disaster should be given government support.

“If the government helps out Park, then everyone should start demanding the government 'fulfill its responsibility',” one person commented. “It is better to help out homeless young people with that one trillion won,” another agreed.

The cause of the accident is also the subject of disagreement.

The travel agency says Park did not follow the safety rules, while Park's family argue he is not that kind of person.

“My brother did not fall because he was trying to take a photo, because he had his mobile phone inside his pocket when he was rescued,” Park's sister said.

“The way in which the tour guide led people around is suspicious, because the place where the accident occurred did not have any safety fences,” she added.

The family also has differing opinions on what to do. The uncle, who wrote the petition wishes for “his nephew's return to his home country,” while Park's sister wants him to stay in the U.S. and receive treatment.

“We are keeping in touch with the family members to look into the situation. We sent consular staff to the Flagstaff Medical Center where Park is hospitalized, and heard they were discussing how to deal with the medical fees and to transfer him,” said Hwang In-sang, the deputy consul general of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles.

Park, who lived in Busan, had been studying abroad in Canada, since 2017. The accident happened the day before he was planning to return Korea.