"Tteokbokki and Gimbap Forced Feeding"... 20s Disabled Person Dies at Welfare Facility in Incheon

National Forensic Service suspects suffocation
Bereaved family requests "Do not feed Kimbap as they dislike it"

Incheon Yeonsu Police Station. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The cause of death of a man in his 20s with disabilities who died while eating at a welfare facility for the disabled is presumed to be asphyxiation, and the bereaved family claims that the death was due to the facility's negligence.

On the 23rd, the Yeonsu Police Station in Incheon announced that on the 6th, they requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service (NFS) on the body of A (in his 20s), who collapsed and died while eating at a welfare facility for the disabled in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, and received a verbal opinion that the cause of death was "presumed to be asphyxiation."

Earlier, A collapsed around 11:45 a.m. while having lunch on the day of the incident. He received emergency treatment including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for six days but ultimately passed away on the 12th. At the time of the incident, it was confirmed that two staff members assisting with the meal and one social service agent were present around A.

CCTV footage inside the facility showed A displaying behaviors suggesting he did not want to eat, such as hitting his cheek for about five minutes from 11:39 a.m. to 11:44 a.m., then being led by a facility staff member to eat. The footage also showed the staff member pressing A's shoulder with their arm while feeding him foods like tteokbokki and gimbap. A refused the food again, moved to another room, and then collapsed.

The bereaved family claims that the facility staff forcibly fed A tteokbokki and gimbap served for lunch, causing him to choke and die. Medical records provided by the family indicate that a 4.5 cm piece of tteokbokki rice cake was found in A's airway during hospital treatment.

The family told KBS, "We had warned beforehand not to feed our son gimbap because he was so averse to it that he would be terrified," adding, "He was born with hypoxia, so how could he die from hypoxia? We, as parents, could not protect him. We all feel guilty."

A police official stated, "Since A died after receiving hospital treatment following the incident, no food such as tteokbokki rice cake was found in the autopsy by the NFS. However, since the verbal autopsy opinion presumes asphyxiation, we are investigating all possibilities, including whether the facility staff were negligent."