Letters from the Two Daughters of the Security Guard Who Committed Suicide: "Dad Used to Only Say He Was Doing Well When We Called..."

In front of the security booth of an apartment in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, where security guard Mr. A, who made an extreme choice after a conflict with a resident that started over a "parking issue within the complex," worked, memorial messages from residents were posted on the 11th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] A memorial was held on the 13th to honor the late apartment security guard Choi Hee-seok, who made an extreme choice after suffering harsh treatment such as verbal abuse and physical assault from residents. The deceased's two daughters, who could not attend the memorial due to staying at the funeral home, expressed their apologies to their father through a letter.

About 100 people, including apartment residents, civic group activists, and citizens, attended the memorial event organized by the "Late Security Worker Choi Hee-seok Memorial Group" in front of Gangbuk-gu Office in Seoul. Wearing masks and sitting on the sidewalk, attendees held candles in one hand to pay tribute to the deceased.

At the memorial held that day, a short letter jointly written by Choi’s two daughters was delivered. The daughters wrote, "Our beloved dad. We didn’t even know you were in so much pain... We are truly sorry. Whenever you called, you always told us not to worry about you and said you were doing well... Our timid and gentle dad... How scared you must have been alone."

They continued, "To all the residents, thank you for visiting the funeral home and actively working for our dad."

Choi Eun-cheol, head of the Seoul branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, "We mourn the deceased who ended his life while appealing against unbearable humiliation and violence."

He added, "If a world where workers and the value of labor are respected is not created, incidents like today’s will happen again anytime and anywhere. We will strive to build a better world so that such incidents never occur again."

On the afternoon of the 13th, a memorial event is being held in front of the Gangbuk District Office in Seoul for Choi Hee-seok, who recently took extreme measures after being harassed by residents while working as an apartment security guard.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ryu Ho-jeong, elected member of the National Assembly from the Justice Party who attended the memorial, said, "I wonder how things might have been if the treatment issues of security workers suffering from power abuse, job insecurity, and prejudice had been resolved earlier. We must prevent death, not stop it with death. I will take the lead in creating a world where we live together."

Choi, who worked as a security guard at an apartment in Ui-dong, Gangbuk-gu, had an argument with a resident over parking on the 21st of last month and was continuously subjected to verbal abuse and physical assault by that resident before making an extreme choice on the 10th.

The case became known after a resident of the same apartment posted a petition titled "Please clear the injustice of our apartment security uncle" on the Blue House National Petition site on the 11th. As of 7 a.m. on the 14th, the petition had gathered over 335,700 supporters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.