Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Woman dies after electric shock at public bath
A 48-year-old woman died after suffering an electric shock in a public bath in Seoul.
Police said Wednesday that the woman, identified as Choi, had a heart attack as a result of the electric shock while soaking in a tub at a public bath in eastern Seoul at around 11 a.m. Monday. She was transported to a hospital nearby but died. She was alone in the tub at the time of the incident.
Witnesses said that Choi suddenly lost consciousness and began floating in the water, saying they were trying to pull her out of the tub but couldn’t do so immediately because there were still electric currents in the water.
A woman named Lee got into the tub to save Choi but also suffered shocks. She too was transported to the hospital but was soon released.
Another woman, who was in the tub with Choi before the accident occurred, told police that she got out of the tub as her body felt strange.
Police are investigating, suspecting there was a short circuit in the bubble-making facility of the tub.
Doctors at the hospital said Choi’s actual cause of death was a heart attack, probably triggered by the electric shock.