Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cubase]

[sickboy]

I did my own sleuthing, turns out that one Mr. Sellers suffered an overdose of kimchi, trying to ward off SARS.

Apparently it doesn't work.

It still blew in with the wind from China (heard from a student yeasterday)

But, on a good note, it sounds like God is coming down to kick open a few doors B.I.G. style and bust a few heads, so revenge will be had!

An eye for an eye!

Facts second!

But seriously, who is to say it couldn't be SARS (I am really skeptical tho)? Mysterious death, not wanting to publish information (IF in fact it was SARS or an actual homicide). Who knows. Theres way to many questions about this still to make an informed judgement.

[kimcheeking]

[narsty dog]

You know one of the strange things about this if you look at are a curious number of things. One , it is possible for 35 years olds to drop dead. It happens all the time - BUT, Matthew was in police custody. Wasn't there already a death of a Korean in police custody last year , anyone dig that up in a search ??? it was in the middle of last year i think.

Also what strikes me as curious is the fact that this guy died on the very day he was supposed to leave korea. That s weird. To be honest I left Korea cos I felt the same way as he did - and i felt increasingly paranoid knowing the real depth of hatred for Americans ( anyone who lloks American) that does exist in Seoul.
It was like reading about myself. I ' m serious I 'd told my partner on a number of occassions that I thought I was going to be killed before I left - not because I m nuts ( well maybe - i know many of think that ) but especially because i took a lot of long journeys on the subway , and it seems that most of the crackpots in Seoul are down there too- plus because I m not Amercian it really annoys me having to put up with all that stuff too. ( sorry Amercians )
Matthew spoke Korean well, he was on TV at some point, he d been there a long time ( longer than me ) . Usually it s people who speak little Korean (GIs) etc who can get themsleves into badly misunderstood situations ( last year s abcuction on the subway incident ) - most times when people speak korean they can get out of weird situations easier - just my opinion - if others have different experiences, please say.

What s also curious is the two incidents - turning up at the embassy with the bloodied face - and being in the back of someone's car . If any other poster on here knew this guy personally i d be pleased to hear what they have to say about his character.
I have an outgoing fiery character, anytime someone asked me a weird question on the subway , i d tell them to get lost in Korean if i thought they were trying to hassle me - that happened a lot last year - other koreans saw and ignored it - they saw me say to some korean ' look i m not american, i m british , i dont want to talk to you , i m just reading my paper please leave me alone ' - that kind of thing.
However, I was out in December at the height of the anti-US feeling in Shinchon with 3 other korean friends, 2 male , in a kalbi chib , and as we left someone from a big group said something to me. next thing they were fighting with us - the staff , and my korean friends stopped them getting me properly , i did get marked though . that was enough for me - i left after that .

I d really like to hear on here from anyone who knew Matthew , and could say what his mental state was before leaving . Had he become ultra paranoid ? Was in sick? Was he looking for trouble with some koreans to get it out of his system before leaving ? Or was he a regularish guy who has maybe died in very suspicious circumstances?

If has anyone has a picture of him , I think it would be good to publish too.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

New update:

http://www.nbc13.com/health/2166266/detail.html

Well, from what little news on the situation I can find, he was in police custody when he died.

Narsty Dog, there is also the requested photo of him at that link I provided. And it also confirms to me that my girlfriend was right... I had met him before....

[Real Reality]

narsty dog,

Perhaps, this is what you are looking for.

Death in prison laid to beating
(written by Park Jai-hyun, Kim Won-bae)

The National Institute of Scientific Investigation tentatively concluded
yesterday that investigators may have beaten a murder suspect to
death.

Cho Cheon-hoon, 32, who was being questioned in connection with the
killing of two reputed gang members, died last week. Prosecutors have
launched an internal investigation into the death.

The National Human Rights Commission announced yesterday that it
would look into Mr. Cho's death, asserting that there is credible evidence
to back the charges of infringement of human rights.

"Scrapes all over Mr. Cho's body imply that contusions may have been
the cause of death," a representative of the investigation institute
said. "Severe beating on the lower half of his body might have brought
death from shock, or he might have died from bleeding in the brain."

An initial autopsy concluded that the bleeding found in his brain was not
from illness, but the amount of blood detected was insufficient to
determine that he died from cerebral hemorrhage alone, the institute
said. It said it would examine Mr. Cho's lungs in death from shock the
lungs are injured. Examinations will also be conducted to learn if the
cerebral hemorrhage was caused by beatings or from the impact when
Mr. Cho fell on the floor.

"But we have not found any evidence that he died of water torture,
which would require more investigation," said the associate. The institute
will conduct tests on whether Mr. Cho took narcotics before his death.

The institute will inform the prosecutors of its investigation this weekend
after consulting outside forensic experts.

A prosecutor said that his office has obtained a statement that several
investigators beat Mr. Cho early on Oct. 26, while he lying on a bed after
being tortured throughout the night. Interrogators arrested for allegedly
beating Mr. Cho, told the investigators that they thought the prosecutor
in charge of the case, Hong Gyeong-ryeong, knew about the beatings.
Mr. Hong will be prosecuted if he knowingly tolerated the beatings.

from the JoongAng Ilbo (November 02, 2002)
http://english.joins.com/Article.asp?aid=20021102013503&sid=300

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Here is a link to one of Matthew's friends.

Read what she has to say. Truly sad...

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=3954

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

So, we know that he was detained by police after what seems was an attempt to leave Korea.

But does anyone know what the reason was? I mean, it sounds like they not only prevented him from leaving Korea, but they took his away and he ended up dead in the process.

Something smells....

[phil]

perhaps he was asthmatic, and the drugs the hospital gave him triggered a reaction? don't think the korean police would have the balls to beat an american citizen though. besides, there would be marks on the body and it didn't mention that in any of the articles.

*edited by lemon 5:36 - please keep discussion of banned users off of the boards*

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[cubase]

Your status as a former private investigator doesn't change the current situation, which is that we on this board have absolutely no "facts". We have two news reports from Alabama, 7000 miles away. They may be accurate, or not. But we can't call them facts.

None of either article's "facts" came from US or Korean embassy, law enforcement or medical authorities. The only information in the article is third-hand.

His family has suffered a terrible loss. They understandably want answers. There are no answers in those articles, and it's not clear that the articles are asking the right questions, either.

Frankly, the theory that he was mugged on a subway "for being American" and then five days later captured and drugged or beaten to death by Korean authorities is less than believable, in my view. It may in fact be true. But we don't know. Calling it a "murder", even with the "?" added as a disclaimer, is just wrong.

One more thing - if a major assault happened on the subway against a foreigner (like the one involving the off-duty soldiers last fall) we'd probably have heard about it.

[jack_daniels]

comment deleted by rudyflyer, speculating about about people alter egos is simply not on

Anyway, it is good to be cautious, but just to sweep it under the rug is not right. There are several suspicious events surrounding Matthew's death. A person is not normally moved from a prison to a hospital -- something must have happened in the prison. The police officer went "on vacation" and won't answer questions. Regardless if Matthew was "insane" (a typical Korean excuse to kill or be killed by someone), he should not be dead and someone, therefore, is responsible. The fact that the police put him in in the hospital, suggests they harmed him somehow. Why also would he need to be moved between two hospitals? It makes no sense. It suggests negligence on the part of the first hospital.

[bignate]

My wife made a posting yesterday and as Matt's friend I think I should as well.

To all the speculation about who Matt was, I just want to say that he was one of the most sensitive, and forthwith persons, that I had met while teaching in Korea, he also was extremely dedicated, not only to teaching but to the community he lived in. While most of us sat around and bitched about Korean ways of life, or other things that irked us as expatriots, Matt would say something like:

"You know what guys, we are the one's who came here to their country to live and work, try to be understanding to their culture."

If there was an issue that he felt needed resolving he would attempt to address it in a useful and articulate way. An example being when preparations for the World Cup were being made, he joined a commitee that was looking at ways in which the subway could be improved to help the influx of foreign spectators get around Seoul. Matt was a person who was very interested in Korean culture and the language and could speak very well - in fact he had little trouble carrying a conversation with Koreans on the street. He loved to pass on knowledge, and loved to learn. He was kind and motivated his students to love one another and to find knowledge within them selves. He was truely a scholar and a gentleman.

Matthew was one of the most understanding persons that I met as well. As my wife mentioned in her post, when ever we had trouble, Matt was the one we likely talked to. He always gave sound, and brotherly advice, and that is something that I really miss. He gave very heartfelt and sane advice, there is no way that my friend was mentally ill.

With all the specualtion going around, people seem to forget that a man is dead. A man with family, friends, and loved ones. Regardless of whether anti-American sentiment was involved, or whether it involved any other variables, the fact is my friend died while in the custody of police and medical officials - whose roles are to protect the well being of a person, not to have a completely healthy 35 year old man die in their "care".

And where were the embassy officials? They had been informed of Matt's position, and did nothing to help him. If an official had been sent to intervene, of just as a moderator, things may have been different. Being forcefully confined and strapped down, while people around you inject you with something you have no idea is, must have been frightening and stressful. I can not get it out of my head that my friend died stressfully, possibly painfully, he died afraid, and he died alone. No one should ever die alone without someone who loves them there.

I just wanted everyone on this site to know that above all there speculation about mental illness, and SARS, and their quasi-intellectual banter about who is right or wrong, a man died, my friend, someone I loved very much.

Too Matt, the altruist, the humanitarian, I am saying be happy and always searching for the "truth" as you did in life.

Nate

[matko]

Amen.

I hope the truth gets out.


Matko

[Medic]

It might be useful to find the names of the hospital or hospitals he was taken too, and the exact location of the police station he was held at. Someone needs to get hold of a Korean friend who is a nurse and start checking around. The fact that the policeman who was in charge is on leave somewhere is a lot of bull. It's just their way of dealing with the issue. The medical people concerned, and the police are already closing ranks, so it's going to be a tough nut to crack for any foreign investigater. Telephone calls should be made now just to get the ball rolling.
The Embassy of course will be useless as they always are in cases like this, because any official investigation might be seen as jeopardizing some other sensitive Korean issue under discussion.