Dead man on Asiana plane left no suicide note

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Dead man on Asiana plane left no suicide note

A Samsung employee found dead in the lavatory of an airplane heading from China to Incheon International Airport on Monday night is believed to have taken his own life, but the motive remains a mystery, police said yesterday.

The 43-year-old Korean was discovered by an Asiana Airlines crew member on the flight from Guangzhou prior to landing at Incheon.

The man, who worked for Samsung Mobile Display, was found hanging from a belt in one of the toilet stalls. He had been working in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where he lived with his family.

Foul play has not been ruled out despite the lack of circumstantial evidence, airport police said yesterday. The case is still under investigation.

However, police said they assume the man took his own life because the door was locked when the victim, who left no suicide note, was found.

A crew member with the surname Park discovered the victim by breaking open the door after he conducted a routine passenger check 15 minutes before landing.

He administered CPR until an ambulance arrived to take the man, described as a promising managerial-level employee, to a nearby hospital.

“The crew and rescuers tried to save him by conducting CPR for 20 to 30 minutes, but it was too late,” the police said.

The victim’s wife returned to Korea early Tuesday morning and asked authorities to hand over her husband’s body. “She seemed like she was in a state of shock and told us that she just wanted to see her husband,” police said. She refused to consent to a post-mortem, they added.



By Kwon Sang-soo [sakwon80@joongang.co.kr]

한글 관련 기사 [중앙일보]

삼성 간부, 귀국 비행기서 숨진 채 발견

모바일디스플레이 중국 주재원
화장실서 목맨 듯 … 유서 안 남겨

인천공항경찰대는 9일 “지난 8일 오후 4시40분쯤 중국 광저우(廣州)를 출발해 인천공항으로 향하던 아시아나항공 기내 화장실에서 회사원 양모(43)씨가 숨져 있는 것을 승무원이 발견해 신고했다”고 밝혔다. 양씨를 발견해 경찰에 신고한 승무원 박모씨는 경찰 조사에서 “착륙 전 승객들을 점검해 보니 양씨가 자리에 없었고 화장실은 노크를 해도 인기척 없이 잠겨 있었다”고 말했다. 이어 “강제로 문을 열고 들어갔을 때 양씨는 화장실 내 유압개폐장치에 목을 맨 채 숨져 있었다”고 했다.

 경찰은 “가족 등에 따르면 삼성모바일디스플레이의 부장인 양씨는 4개월 전부터 중국 현지법인 근무를 해 왔으나 최근 신병치료차 한국에 돌아오기를 희망했다고 한다”며 “이 같은 내용을 회사와 협의하기 위해 당일 비행기를 타게 된 것으로 파악하고 있다”고 설명했다. 경찰은 반항 흔적 등이 없는 것으로 미뤄 양씨가 스스로 목숨을 끊은 것으로 추정하고 있다. 양씨는 유서를 남기지 않았다.

 삼성모바일디스플레이 측은 양씨가 중국 법인에 휴가계를 내고 국내에 들어오던 중이었으며, 기술 유출 등으로 사법 당국의 조사를 받거나 본사로 소환된 일은 없다고 밝혔다. 이 회사 관계자는 “자살 동기로 추정할 만한 게 없어 개인적인 사정에 의한 것으로 보고 있다”고 말했다.

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