Anti-feminist’s body found after failed jump stunt

The body of an anti-feminist who leapt from the Mapo Bridge on Friday in a publicity stunt gone wrong was found yesterday. After four days of search efforts, rescue workers said they found the body of Sung Jae-gi floating in the Han River near Seoul’s Sogang Bridge, about 1.4 kilometers (0.87 miles) from where he entered the water, at around 4:10 p.m. yesterday.

“We started conducting an underwater search at 9 a.m. … and found Sung’s body floating,” said a rescue worker with the Han River patrol who asked to remain anonymous. “Bodies in the Han River usually float to the surface after three to four days in the summer, as the gas caused by the decomposition makes them buoyant.

“Though the body has decayed over a period of multiple days, we were able to identify it as it had on the same outfit that Sung was wearing on Friday.”

Sung had on a white dress shirt and gray pants for his planned swim. The hems of his pants were also tied to his ankles. Sung had fastened them like that before jumping, mistakenly believing it would help him maneuver in the water.

Sung, a self-proclaimed anti-feminist, had been trying to raise donations for Man of Korea, his financially troubled male rights group. What was supposed to be a highly publicized stunt turned out to be a fatal miscalculation as Sung disappeared below the water after jumping from the bridge, and remained missing over the weekend.

In a message he uploaded to his group’s Web site on Thursday, a day before his ill-fated leap, Sung pleaded for support, saying the group needed to raise 100 million won ($90,000).

“With my life at stake, I hereby request that citizens give Man of Korea a last opportunity,” he wrote.

Since Sung’s disappearance, some people have left remarks on the railing of the Mapo Bridge mocking his stunt, and sparking a public outcry about the inappropriate behavior.

BY KANG JIN-KYU [jkkang2@joongang.co.kr]