Police will crack down on operators of online suicide cafes in a bid to curb the spread of joint suicide attempts.
Their move came after as many as 14 people have been found dead in six cases of apparent group suicides, mostly in vehicles or lodgings in secluded areas of Gangwon Province. They used briquettes to asphyxiate themselves with toxic gases.
Police booked an online suicide cafe operator, identified as Kim, on suspicion of abetting in suicide attempts. Police interrupted a group suicide attempt at a local hotel room in Seoul, Sunday, involving five people who gathered after meeting through the Internet cafe. The group had devised their plan through e-mail and instant messenger services, according to the police.
The latest incidents follow earlier high profile celebrity suicides, some of which also involved use of coal briquettes, stoking fears of copycat suicides. Among them was that of popular actor Ahn Jae-hwan, who took his own life after inhaling toxic fumes from burning charcoal briquettes inside his car.