Seoul City civil servant jumps to death possibly due to overwork

A civil servant in his 20s, who was working at the Seoul City government, jumped to his death in his residential district in Dobong-gu, Seoul, Tuesday.

Investigators say the reason behind the apparent suicide is possibly overwork, citing his family’s testimony.

Police received a report from a janitor who said he had found a bloodied man on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building. The man was rushed to a nearby hospital but was soon pronounced dead. 

Police said it appears that the man jumped from the 14th floor of his apartment building, where his bag was found.

No suicide note was found at the scene, but police are investigating the incident, based on his mother’s testimony about her son being distressed due to overwork.

The Seoul city official had been working on budgets since the beginning of this year and was recently bombarded with a heavy workload as the budgeting period drew near. The mother said her son had repeatedly expressed his distress over the heavy workload. 

Dobong Police Station in Dobong-gu,northeastern Seoul(Yonhap)

(mjk625@heraldcorp.com)