Police intercepted a flight at Incheon International Airport just 15 minutes before takeoff to prevent a man in his sixties suspected of planning assisted suicide from leaving the country.
On September 9, authorities at Incheon International Airport received a report indicating that a man in his sixties was attempting to leave South Korea for France for the purpose of assisted suicide. The man, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis - a debilitating and incurable respiratory disease - was scheduled to board a flight at 12:05 PM. Upon receiving the report from the man's family, police rushed to the airport and managed to meet with him at around 10 AM. Despite initial encounters, the police could not prevent his departure as he expressed intentions to take a final trip to France.
However, just 15 minutes before the flight was set to leave, a secondary notification came in from the family indicating the discovery of a note from the man saying 'I'm sorry,' which raised further concerns about his state of mind. Responding to the report, police delayed the flight's takeoff time and approached the man in the cabin just before he was about to board. After a tense negotiation period involving one officer with a similar age to the man, they were able to convince him to forego the trip to Paris.
In the aftermath of the incident, which sparked discussions around assisted suicide, the man returned to his family, highlighting ongoing debates in South Korea regarding patients’ rights to choose the manner and time of their death. The case brings to light not only the legal and moral struggles surrounding assisted suicide but also the emotional and psychological factors that families face in such dire circumstances.
