Activist's 'suicide' causes huge stir

Sung Jae-gi, head of Man of Korea, jumps off from a bridge over the Han River in this photo posted on his Twitter account, Friday, a day after he warned of his suicide. Police searched for his body for hours to no avail as of Friday night. / Captured from Twitter

By Kim Jae-won

The operator of an online forum advocating men's rights jumped from a bridge into the Han River Friday, a day after he posted a message on the website that he would commit suicide to draw attention to the group.

Sung Jae-gi, head of Man of Korea (www.manofkorea.com), said in the message that he would jump off a bridge to draw attention to the group which has worked for men's rights since its establishment in January 2008.

When he jumped, two colleagues and one KBS TV cameraman were at the scene, according to the officials from the group and KBS.

Some 30 firemen, along with one helicopter, searched for the 45-year-old at Mapo Bridge, but failed to find him as of Friday night.

"Dear citizens. Now I plan to jump off a bridge over the Han River. I hope you give us the last chance. Please lend us 100 million won which will be used for paying back debt and seed money of our organization," Sung wrote on the website.

Sung said that his suicide attempt will be "captured" by photos which his colleagues would take.

In fact, photos which show Sung jumping off the bridge were posted on his Twitter account, along with a line that reads: "I know this is shameful. I'm sorry. I'll repent for the last of my life."

The photos raised ethical problems of the colleagues who seem to have abetted in Sung's suicide. The photos posted on Twitter also showed the two colleagues and the cameraman.

Police said they were questioning two officials of the organization over Sung's attempted suicide.

The incident stirred a huge online debate. Countless messages were posted on websites and Twitter, condemning the three men on the scene for what they claimed to be abetting suicide.

In reaction, KBS said on its website that the cameraman reported the incident to the police before and after the man jumped off the bridge. It also explained that the cameraman did not have sufficient time to save him.

Firemen said that it is difficult to find him because the water currents were stronger than usual due to heavy rain which hit the capital city earlier this week.

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