Foreign worker dies fleeing locked motel room via 8th-floor window in Busan

BUSAN — A man who entered Korea to work as a seafarer died Tuesday after falling from a motel window in a suspected attempt to abscond from his workplace. Another foreign national who tried to flee with him was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.

The Indonesian national in his 20s fell from the eighth floor of a locked motel room in Gamjeon-dong, Sasang District, in Busan, at about 3:28 a.m., Busan Sasang Police Station said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He had arrived in Korea the day before through a staffing agency, having received an E-10 visa to work as a seafarer.

A second Indonesian man in his 30s, who had entered the country with him and shared the same room, also fell during the escape attempt. He suffered serious injuries, including a fractured right leg, and was taken to a hospital.

The two men were among 20 Indonesian nationals who had arrived in Korea a day earlier and were staying in two motel rooms, 10 people to a room, while awaiting assignment, police said.

They had reportedly signed contracts to work aboard Chinese fishing vessels operating from ports including Gamcheon Port in Busan. The two men, however, changed their minds and attempted to flee.

Investigators believe the pair tied together blankets and other items to make a rope roughly 19 meters (62 feet) long, then used it to climb down from the window. The man in his 30s went first and broke his leg on landing. The man in his 20s followed, but slipped partway down and fell to his death, police said.

The men attempted to escape through the window because the door to their room had been locked from the outside.

“It is common for foreign nationals who come to Korea to work as seafarers to run away and become undocumented residents,” a police official said. “The agency says it locked the room door with the workers’ consent to prevent that.”

“Further investigation is needed to determine how the alleged consent was obtained and whether the arrangement was appropriate,” the official added.

Under Korean criminal law, confining someone against their will is a punishable offense. The offense may not apply if the person gave valid consent, as can happen with admission to a psychiatric hospital.

Consent obtained through coercion or deception, however, would not be considered valid. The police are also examining whether the staffing agency, a Korean company, holds the proper license to dispatch workers.

Why the two men chose to flee remains under investigation.

“Based on our questioning of the injured man, he appears to have believed there was a way to earn more money even if he became an undocumented resident,” the police official said. “We will investigate the exact circumstances once he has recovered.”

BY KIM MIN-JU [[email protected]]