"Difficult to Care for Dementia Mother"... Son Drives Car into the Sea with Her Onboard

Mokpo Coast Guard Urgently Arrests Man in His 40s on Charges of Killing Mother and Brother
Falls at Muan Pier... Rescued Alone

The mother and child death incident caused by the fall of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) into the sea at a pier in Muan, Jeonnam, nine days ago was revealed to be a crime committed by the son and brother who was driving the car.

According to the police on the 10th, the Mokpo Coast Guard urgently arrested Mr. A (48) on charges of killing his mother and older brother in the sea fall accident (parricide and aiding suicide). Mr. A is suspected of rushing his SUV into the sea with his mother and his brother in their 50s near Holtong Pier, Hyeonggyeong-myeon, Muan-gun, Jeonnam, at around 5:04 p.m. the previous day, killing them. His mother and brother were found in a state of cardiac arrest inside the vehicle by the coast guard and firefighters and were taken to a nearby hospital but eventually died. Mr. A was rescued by nearby residents immediately after the accident and is receiving hospital treatment.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. It shows the view of Holtong Sea in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do.

Mr. A, who is unmarried, reportedly committed this crime because his mother’s dementia symptoms, whom he was caring for with his brother, worsened and became increasingly difficult to handle. He had decided to make an extreme choice together with his brother but survived alone. The coast guard plans to apply for an arrest warrant for Mr. A as soon as the investigation is completed.

Meanwhile, tragedies within families due to long-term dementia care continue to occur. In March, an 80-year-old husband, Mr. B, who killed his spouse suffering from dementia while nursing her alone, was sentenced to three years in prison. Mr. B was tried on charges of strangling his wife in her 70s at their residence in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, around September 2023. Mr. B committed this crime after his wife, diagnosed with dementia in 2020, worsened and he found it difficult to handle nursing her alone. Also, in October last year, a man in his 60s who had cared alone for his wife suffering simultaneously from dementia, lung cancer, and Parkinson’s disease for five and a half years killed his wife. The court took his situation into consideration and sentenced him to four years in prison.

※ If you have difficult concerns such as depression or know family or acquaintances facing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour expert counseling through the Suicide Prevention Hotline ☎1393, Mental Health Counseling Hotline ☎1577-0199, Lifeline ☎1588-9191, Youth Hotline ☎1388, Youth Mobile Counseling app 'Da Deureojul Gae', KakaoTalk, and other channels.