Questions surrounding the apparent suicide over the weekend of a South Korean official who was handling the aftermath of a deadly bus crash in China remained unanswered Monday as investigators failed to uncover clues to determine his motive.

Choi Doo-yeong, 55-year-old president of the Local Government Officials’ Development Institute, was found dead early Sunday outside his hotel room in what Chinese officials later suspected was a suicide. He was staying in the region to handle affairs after the bus crash in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian last Wednesday that claimed 10 Korean lives.

The bodies of the victims arrived in Korea on Monday around 1:05 p.m. via Incheon International Airport. Eight of the public officials’ bodies were sent to local government organizations where they each worked. The respective government bodies will take care of the funeral processes for the victims.

The bodies of the two other victims, a public official and the tour agency official, were sent to their respective families on request.

Choi’s body will arrive in Korea separately later this week, after his family has identified the body.

With regard to Choi’s death, Chinese investigators said they ruled out homicide based on the autopsy results, testimonies of eyewitnesses and surveillance images.

They also found his fingerprints on the window of his hotel room.

Officials here said they were still baffled over why the government official allegedly chose to plunge to his death.

“The Chinese officials cooperated (with Korean government) as best they could in terms of preserving the bodies and sending them back to Korea. There is no particular reason to believe that he was under immense pressure, and it’s far-fetched to connect the conflict (between Chinese officials and victims’ families) to his death,” said the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs.

A search of his hotel room did not turn up a suicide note, but a memo with a large question mark, although officials said they were unsure of what it meant.

A member of the Korean government team deployed to China told Korean media that Choi appears to have been stressed out by strife between the Chinese authorities -- who wanted the bodies cremated -- and the families of the deceased who wanted the bodies sent back to Korea. China eventually agreed the day before Choi’s death to send the bodies back.

In an official briefing Sunday, the Home Affairs Ministry said while the families were unhappy with some aspects of the situation, such as the medical facility, there was no actual conflict.

Despite the reports by Chinese authorities, the ministry has not ruled out the possibility that Choi merely lost his footing and fell.

Last week’s bus crash killed nine Korean civil servants, a Korean civilian and the Chinese bus driver. 

By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)