[Metro24] What the Three Mothers in Suwon Left Behind

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] February 2014. An incident that shocked the world occurred. Three women from the same family living in Songpa, Seoul, suffering from financial hardship, committed joint suicide by burning charcoal briquettes in their room. They lived in a basement room and were suffering from illnesses. Although they had no income, they did not receive any help from the social security system established by the government and local authorities. The three women ended their sorrowful lives, leaving behind 700,000 won for their last rent and utility bills, along with a note expressing their apologies.

Eight years later, d?j? vu.

On the afternoon of the 21st, around 2:50 p.m., in a multi-family house in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, a woman in her 60s, Ms. A, and her two daughters in their 40s were found dead. A note was found at the scene stating that "life was difficult due to chronic illness and debt." Ms. A had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. Her two daughters suffered from rare incurable diseases.

However, they were classified as individuals with only the variable of "health insurance premium arrears" in the government's welfare blind spot detection system and were excluded from the list of vulnerable households. The government identifies vulnerable households based on 34 types of information, including power, water, gas disconnections, health insurance premium arrears, financial delinquencies, and national pension arrears. However, the three women in Suwon were only confirmed to have health insurance premium arrears and were not classified as high-risk. Suwon City was also unaware of their residence.

Too little, too late.

After the incident, the government and local authorities made a big fuss. On the 26th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and First Lady Kim Keon-hee visited the funeral home one after another. Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Ki-il and Suwon City accompanied them on their final journey with a "public funeral." They all promised the public that such incidents would never happen again.

Gyeonggi Province has established a "hotline" for vulnerable households directly under the governor. Since its opening on the 25th, about 70 heartbreaking cases have been flooding in daily. The province also plans to expand the honorary social welfare officer program. This system was introduced in 2018 following the deaths of the Jeungpyeong mother and daughter and the Gumi father and son incidents to identify vulnerable households. Currently, 38,078 people are active in the province.

Welfare is not charity but a right. We hope that the policies and words so far will not remain mere rhetoric. We respectfully pray for the deceased’s peace.

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