Father and 4 children found dead in Ulsan, hamburgers were their last meal
A toy motorcycle sits outside the entrance of a multi-unit residential building in Ulju County, Ulsan, on Wednesday, where a father in his 30s and his four children were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide driven by financial hardship. Korea Times photo by Park Eun-kyoung
Outside the apartment, behind police tape, a young child's bicycle was left alone at the entrance.
"Not long ago, I saw the father putting the kids on the day care center bus in the morning. Whatever drove him to this," a neighbor said. "I never talked to him, but he always seemed troubled. It's heartbreaking what the circumstances were."
A father in his 30s and his four young children were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Ulsan after welfare rules barred the cash-strapped family from receiving emergency government assistance.
Police discovered the bodies in an apartment in Ulju County at 4:48 p.m. on Wednesday, two days after the estimated time of death. The discovery occurred after the eldest child's teacher reported the 7-year-old's repeated absences to police. The children — ages 7, 5, 3, and 5 months — showed no signs of physical injury or illness.
Investigators suspect the family died from carbon monoxide poisoning around 9 p.m. on March 16. Police found burned charcoal briquettes inside the room, alongside hamburger wrappers believed to be from the family's last meal and a suicide note reading, "There is economic hardship, and it is hard to raise four children alone. I am sorry."
Welfare gap leaves family unreached
The family's finances deteriorated in December when the mother, the family's sole breadwinner, who worked at a restaurant, got arrested and jailed for a criminal offense. The father handled household duties due to his own health issues. He was left to support the family on a monthly income of 1.4 million won ($934) from government child allowances and parental subsidies, an amount barely above the poverty line for a single adult.
Local authorities identified the family as at risk of falling through the cracks of the welfare system in February based on unpaid health insurance premiums and other arrears. However, the community center was barred from providing emergency funds because the family had received 8 million won ($5,556) in emergency relief and a rice cooker the previous spring.
Under current rules, the same household cannot reapply for emergency relief within one year. While officials guided the father to apply for the basic livelihood security program as an alternative, he refused it.
Failure of public education
The school also failed to intervene. The eldest child attended school for only five days from March 9 to 13 following the entrance ceremony. School officials conducted three home visits and filed two police reports during this period, but they took no further action because they observed no visible signs of trauma or abuse.
An Ulsan Office of Education official said the deaths occurred while the school was determining whether the family needed welfare support and attempting to link the case with the local government. The official added the office will take steps to prevent similar cases by strengthening the management of at-risk students.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the suicide prevention hotline at 109 in South Korea. International readers can find global crisis resources at findahelpline.com.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.