Young Myanmar Student from Top University in Korea Killed by Truck While Working to Pay Tuition

PYEI T&C... Young Head of Household Studying at Yangon University
"Filial Son Who Sent Most of His Earnings to His Mother in Homeland"
Also Helping Refugee Children in Homeland After Coup

A foreign worker in his 20s from Myanmar who died while working at a highway construction site in the Gyeongnam region last August was revealed to be the young head of a household caring for his widowed mother in his home country.

According to the Gyeongnam Migrant Center and Yonhap News on the 11th, Pyay Thein (26), a Myanmar national, died on the morning of the 7th of last month after being crushed by the front wheel of a 25-ton dump truck while working as a flagman in the Daebyeok-ri area of Hapcheon. The funeral was held on the 10th, one month and four days after the fatal accident.

'Tragedy at Hapcheon Construction Site' Funeral Scene of Myanmar Worker Pyei Taen C [Photo by Gyeongnam Migrant Center·Yonhap News]

As the eldest son among two brothers and one sister, he was enrolled in the first year of the Department of Economics at Yangon University, one of Myanmar's prestigious universities, before coming to Korea around September 2017 to earn tuition fees.

After his father passed away from illness in 2019, the family’s financial situation deteriorated, and he continued to work day and night in a distant foreign country to cover his mother’s medical expenses while she was battling illness. When a coup d'?tat occurred in Myanmar in 2021, he was unable to return home after his employment permit expired and applied for humanitarian special stay, subsequently securing a job at a construction company last year.

A close Myanmar colleague remembered him as a "very diligent friend" who "was deeply filial, sending most of his earnings to his mother."

Despite difficult circumstances, it was also revealed that after the Myanmar coup, he donated a portion of his hard-earned money monthly to support refugee children in his homeland.

Due to internal issues in Myanmar such as passport issuance problems, Pyay Thein’s family could not attend the funeral, so the Gyeongnam Migrant Center and the local community saw him off on his final journey. About 30 Myanmar migrant workers residing in Gyeongnam also participated.

'Tragedy at Hapcheon Construction Site' Myanmar Worker Pyei Tae N C [Photo by Yonhap News]

In his eulogy, Lee Cheol-seung, director of the Gyeongnam Migrant Center, said, "September 11 marks six years since the deceased came to Korea," and expressed sorrow, saying, "Due to COVID-19 and the brutal military coup, the mother in his homeland, who had not seen her eldest son for many years, will never meet him again."

He continued, "The outsourcing of industrial accidents and deaths is progressing throughout society, escalating into the outsourcing of industrial accident deaths and migrant deaths," and added, "It is time to break this vicious cycle of migrant deaths from industrial accidents. May the heavy burden be passed on to the living, and may he go to his beloved hometown to meet his mother."

It is reported that the company and the bereaved family are currently negotiating a settlement regarding compensation.

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