Why Did the Family Mourn the Death of a 70-Year-Old Who Fell While Crossing Stepping Stones?

Conflict Over Private Road Among Neighbors in a Village in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do
"No Obstruction of Passage" Ruling Issued but Access Still Blocked
Accident Occurs While Using 'Temporary' Stepping Stones

An accident occurred in which a woman in her 70s fell onto frozen creek water while crossing a dangerous stepping stone bridge and eventually died. The bereaved family claims that the accident was caused by an obstruction to passage by a neighboring resident, sparking controversy. On the 13th, YTN reported, "Last month in a village in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, an elderly woman named Kim, over seventy years old, fell onto frozen creek water while crossing a stepping stone bridge on her way home, injuring her head. Less than an hour after returning home, she lost consciousness due to a cerebral hemorrhage and collapsed, eventually passing away."

Obstacle installed by Mr. and Mrs. A.
[Image source=YTN news screen capture]

The bereaved family claims that after the former village chief Mr. A and his wife purchased the land adjacent to the road across the creek, they blocked residents' passage, which led to this tragedy. According to neighboring residents, although a lawsuit was filed and a ruling was made stating "passage obstruction must not occur," passage has remained difficult for seven years. Mr. A and his wife refused residents' requests to repair the road, which had become damaged due to rain, and when the bridge collapsed due to heavy rain in August last year, they completely blocked the land by erecting iron plates.

As the usual path was cut off, residents temporarily built a stepping stone bridge over the creek last year, where ultimately Mrs. Kim's fatal accident occurred. The Gwangju City Hall stated regarding the obstruction of passage, "We did our best to persuade them, but the (landowners) opposed it."

Residents suspect that Mr. A and his wife are trying to drive out the residents across the creek to gain development profits, but the couple denies any involvement in development projects. Rather, they argued that they had allowed free use of private land for several years, and that the neighbors' lawsuits and repair requests were excessive. Mr. B, the husband of Mr. A, told YTN, "They should pay money or find some way to resolve this. Are they saying they will use someone else's land for their entire lives?" Gwangju City Hall is reportedly preparing grounds to enforce the restoration of the bridge through basic river plans and other measures.

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