Shocked by Chairman Chung`s Death, an Old Man Born in NK Committed Suicide

Shocked by the suicide of Hyundai Asan Chairman Chung Mong-hun, an 83-year old man whose hometown is in North Korea committed suicide. He left a memo that read “Please burn me to ashes and scatter my ashes in a river.”

The man, identified as Kim, was found around 4 p.m. Monday by his wife, moaning after drinking a weed killer. He was sent from his home in Dongducheon City, Gyeonggi province to a nearby hospital but died. His wife said that he, who was originally from North Hamgyeong Province in North Korea, has been disappointed not being included in the groups of reuniting with their separated family members in the North. “After hearing the suicide of Chairman Chung, he was in a great despair, saying that as Chairman Chung died, he has no way to meet his family in North Korea,” added his wife.

argus@donga.com