Man In His 60s Attempting To Leave Country For Euthanasia Stopped After Police Delay Aircraft Takeoff

Emergency measures taken just before takeoff after family report

A man in his 60s who was attempting to leave the country for the purpose of euthanasia was stopped at Incheon International Airport after his family reported him and the police persuaded him to halt his plans.

Incheon International Airport check-in counter notice. Photo unrelated to the article. The Asia Business Daily DB

According to the Incheon International Airport Police on the 10th, at around 9:30 a.m. the previous day, the family of a man in his 60s, referred to as Mr. A, called the emergency number 112 and reported, "My father is trying to leave the country for the purpose of euthanasia."

Mr. A, who had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, was scheduled to depart at 12:05 p.m. that day on a flight to Paris. He was then reportedly planning to travel on from Paris to Switzerland, where assisted suicide (assisted dying) is permitted even for foreigners.

The police, having received the report, met and interviewed Mr. A at around 10:00 a.m., but no immediate measures were taken to stop his departure because he explained, "My health is poor, and I want to take one last trip."

However, at around 11:50 a.m., the situation changed rapidly when his family found a letter written in the form of a will containing an apology and notified the police. The police urgently delayed the aircraft's takeoff, had Mr. A disembark from the plane, and conducted a lengthy in-depth interview with him.

After a police officer of a similar age to Mr. A personally stepped in to persuade him, the police were able to stop Mr. A from leaving the country and handed him over to his family.

A police official said, "After the letter was found, we took emergency measures to delay the flight's departure and conducted an in-depth interview," and added, "We were able to prevent Mr. A from leaving the country after persuading him through a long interview."

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, euthanasia in which a doctor directly administers a drug to a patient is illegal, but so-called "assisted suicide," in which the patient self-administers the drug with the help of a doctor, is allowed.