By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Whang Joung-il, 52, a minister at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, died on Sunday during treatment for an illness at a hospital there, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Tuesday.
Whang, who ate a sandwich early Sunday, developed an acute stomachache and went to the hospital but died while being given an injection of Ringer's solution, ministry sources said.
The exact cause for his death will be released after an autopsy is performed Monday, they said, adding suspect medicines could be a possibility.
The Chinese government has requested tests of the Ringer's solution, which was administered to him, to see if contamination was the cause of death, the sources said.
China has recently had a series of problems with contaminated medicines from unscrupulous manufacturers.
Whang is survived by his wife, daughter and son.