Collegian’s death from train raises questions

By Kim Rahn

Police are investigating the death of a college student who fell from a moving train on the first day of the Chuseok holiday. They will look into all possibilities including a train door malfunction or possible negligence.

According to the police and the railway authority Korail, the 21-year-old collegian, surnamed Mun, was heading for his hometown in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, when he fell from a Saemaeul train to his death at around 5 p.m. Saturday.

The train bound for Gwangju departed from Yongsan Station in central Seoul and was passing Osan Station in Gyeonggi Province when the incident took place.

An engine driver of another train, which was slowing down at that precise moment, witnessed the event and reported it to the railway authorities by radio. Employees at Osan Station found the body.

The door between the second and third carriages where Mun fell was opened and the acrylic board covering the emergency lever, with which the door can be forcibly opened or closed, was broken, according to police.

Train crewmembers told police that Mun, without a train ticket, was sitting in the coupling part between the sixth and seventh carriages before the incident. A ticket inspector told him to go to a cafeteria compartment, the third carriage, adding he would let him know how to pay the fare there after finishing his inspection.

Considering the broken acrylic board, police are investigating whether Mun killed himself or fell by accident.

“We asked the National Forensic Service to examine the acrylic board to see if his fingerprints are on them,” an officer of the Hwasung Dongbu Police Station said.

Through surveillance camera recordings at Yongsan Station, police confirmed Mun boarded the train alone. Questions regarding whether he bought a ticket, whether the ticket inspector took the proper steps concerning a free rider and whether Korail workers properly managed the train door are being looked into.

Mun’s friends rule out the chance of suicide, saying he told them before the holiday that he would visit his parents. His family also said Mun was actively preparing for a choir contest to be held in two weeks.

Some claim Korail is trying to frame it as a suicide to shirk blame.

On its Twitter account, Korail said, “It was Korail workers who reported the incident to the police. We are cooperating with the ongoing police investigation. We hope people will not spread rumors or unwarranted speculation.”

A Korail official added the train door is not opened unless people forcibly operate the emergency lever.