Joint Suicides Spawn Sequels in Gangwon
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Another joint suicide attempt, which left one woman dead and three in serious condition, was reported to the police in Gangwon Province, Thursday. This was the latest in a series of joint suicides using the same method of inhaling toxic gas from briquettes in the eastern province and the fifth joint suicide case this month, with the death toll rising to 12.
Four people were found in and outside a sports utility vehicle by a mountain guard in Yanggu at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Among them, a 19-year-old female was found dead, while the others were taken to a hospital and remain in critical condition, according to the police. A burnt briquette was found in the vehicle, with all the gaps between the doors and windows sealed with tape.
Calls are mounting for measures to prevent joint suicides among online suicide community members, but police and related authorities are having difficulty as such people plot their actions secretly through personal email and closed communities.
Eleven men and women were found dead in Gangwon Province between April 8 and 17. Leaving suicide notes, they died from inhaling briquette gas in their cars or lodging.
Police suspect that they plotted the suicides after meeting each other in Internet suicide communities.
``A man who killed himself with three others in Inje County had exchanged phone calls with another man who committed suicide with two others in Hoengseong County. The two were members of a community, and we suspect they shared information regarding the suicide method,'' a police officer of Gangwon Police Agency said.
Preemptive Measures
Meanwhile, in Busan, two men in their 20s killed themselves Sunday by the same method, and police found that they searched for a ``companion'' on a portal site.
Police say that they can investigate such joint suicides after the fact but it's not easy to prevent them because they're plotted secretly.
As open communities are under the surveillance of portal site operators and police if they use specific terms such as ``suicide,'' those planning to take their own lives these days operate closed communities or exchange their plans via email.
If police anticipate suicide attempts and try to examine their email, it will cause controversy over privacy infringement. Even if police find suicide-related communities, they do not have the authority to shut them down and can only ask the portal operators or the Korea Communications Commission to do so.
``There's almost nothing we can do other than lock the stable door after the horse has bolted. Even if we find such communities and request the portal operator to shut them down, it takes time,'' the officer said.
Civic groups are calling for the revision of regulations on Internet content. ``Currently, it is a violation of the Information and Communication Law to track down emails, IDs or cell phones of Internet users who post suicide-related content. Even though police obtain tips about suicide pacts, they can't act without breaking the law,'' Jang Chang-min, director of the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention, said.
``Privacy should be protected. But the nation needs to revise the law to allow authorities to check email or ID when suicide attempts are suspected,'' he said.