Activist missing for 3rd day

Rescue boats from Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters search for the body of male rights activist Sung Jae-gi under the Mapo Bridge on the Han River in this photo taken on Friday. Sung jumped off the bridge ostensibly as a way to raise funds for his advocacy group. Police and rescue agents have searched for his body for three days, but failed to find it as of Sunday night. / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

An activist who jumped from a bridge into the Han River Friday remained missing for a third day, police said Sunday.

His two colleagues at the scene have been questioned about whether they abetted his jump. But they said that he had no intent on killing himself, claiming that it was just a stunt to draw public attention to raise funds for his men's rights group.

Sung Jae-gi, head of male rights advocacy group, Man of Korea, jumped off Mapo Bridge urging the public to lend the group 100 million won ($90,900) to fund its activities.

A day before the stunt, he posted a Twitter message threatening to jump from one of the 24 bridges on the Han River on Friday.

As his suicide notice stirred controversy online, he responded saying, "I didn't say I will commit ‘suicide.' I'm sure that I can swim out from the river and our group members shall have a get-together after I survive the jump."

After he jumped from the bridge, some 50 firemen at Yeongdeungpo Fire Station started a search operation with one helicopter, three rescue boats and six ambulances, but failed to find him as of Sunday.

According to the fire station, the operation is being hampered by the fast currents of the river and the murky state of the water.

"Divers are trawling the bottom of the river with very limited visibility," said an official at the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters (SFDH).

SFDH said Sung might have collided with one of the piers of the bridge in the water, and raised the possibility of Sung's body being swept downstream of the Han River.

The two members of the group present at the scene said that water safety specialist accompanied Sung for safety concerns but Sung fell from the bridge suddenly.

Police investigated three members of the civic group at the scene and said they can be charged with abetting Sung's suicide, if Sung was found dead.

During the questioning, the colleagues told the police that they could not stop him "as Sung stubbornly insisted he is good at swimming and will be okay."

He reportedly did not leave suicide notes and his wife also knew about his plan.

Han Seung-oh, an official of the group at the scene, said Sung's jump was part of a "risky stunt" to raise the 100-million won fund for settling the group's financial difficulties and had no intention of suicide.

"We are very sorry for causing such a fuss. But his jump was not a suicide but a stunt to draw public attention," Han said.

Immediately after his jump, photos which show Sung jumping off the bridge and three persons filming the scene were posted on his Twitter account, along with a line that reads: "I know this is shameful. I'll repent for the last of my life."

A domestic broadcaster KBS TV, whose cameraman was at the scene filming his attempt, was also criticized for allegedly abetting the suicide which is unethical.
In reaction, KBS said the cameraman reported the incident to the police before and after the 45-year-old jumped.

Sung, a declared anti-feminist, established the men's rights group in January 2008, leading a campaign to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality, responsible for handling women's issues.

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