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Patient found dead after escaping from hospital in Tongyeong

Published: 10 Nov. 2025, 09:30

The Tongyeong Coast Guard's offices in South Gyeongsang is pictured in this undated file photo. [TONGYEONG COAST GUARD]

A man in his 70s who had been hospitalized was found dead Monday morning off the coast of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, after disappearing during the night.

According to the Korea Coast Guard, a report came in at 9:08 a.m. Monday that a person was seen floating in the sea near Mujeon-dong, Tongyeong. The Tongyeong Coast Guard responded immediately and pulled the man from the water, but he was already dead.

The man had been a patient at a hospital in Tongyeong. Surveillance footage confirmed that he left the hospital at around 1 a.m. on Monday morning and his family had filed a missing persons report shortly afterward.

The Coast Guard is reviewing security camera footage to trace the man’s movements and plans to question his family to determine the exact circumstances surrounding his death.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]