TV contestant commits suicide

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TV contestant commits suicide

A young woman, identified only by her surname Jeon, was found dead yesterday at a resort on Jeju Island, authorities said.

The 29-year-old had been participating in a television program there in which single male and female contestants search for potential partners.

According to the police, the woman hanged herself from the shower head with a hair dryer cord and was reportedly found by a staff member of the SBS broadcasting company, which was filming the show.

Staff members told police that she had gone into the bathroom, where she was indisposed for some time. When the producer of the show unlocked the door, Jeon was already unconscious.

“When we were informed of the case and arrived at the scene, the woman already looked pale and was in cardiac arrest,” an official with the Seogwipo Fire Station said yesterday.

A doctor among the show’s contestants performed CPR but was unable to revive her. Jeon was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead later that day.

The police suspect the woman committed suicide after finding a note on the premises they believe she wrote.

“I’m sorry, mom and dad, but I don’t want to live anymore because it is too hard,” the note read, according to a briefing by a police officer yesterday.

“Disclosure of further details of the note should be discussed with her family,” the officer added.

An investigation is under way and authorities are currently looking into whether Jeon was taking any medication or receiving treatment. The young woman allegedly suffered from depression, police said.

The episode featuring Jeon was supposed to air at the end of this month, but the production staff said those recordings will be discarded.

SBS officials ultimately decided to cancel the episode scheduled for yesterday night, replacing it with a football match between the Russian and Armenian national teams. The rerun of the canceled episode, slated to air this weekend, will also be replaced.

“We are very sorry that this happened and convey our deepest condolences. We also apologize to those who participated in the program,” the production staff said in a statement released by SBS late yesterday.

“We will do our best to manage the situation and to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.”

BY KIM BONG-MOON [bongmoon@joongang.co.kr]



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