Only a Pile of Unpaid Bills in the House of an Elderly Couple Who Died in the Scorching Heat

[경향신문]

The front door of a multiplex house in Dobong-gu where a couple was found dead in the afternoon of July 29. Kang Eun

On the afternoon of July 27, when the nation experienced a relentless heatwave, an elderly couple was found dead in a multiplex house in Dobong-gu, Seoul. The couple were recipients of the government’s basic living allowance. Their refrigerator was empty and there was no air-conditioner to help them escape the heat. Among the clothes that were scattered here and there, one could catch sight of utility bills. The total amount of unpaid fees printed on the water bill was 190,620 won. A neighbor said, “How many people around here can afford an air-conditioner? We’re all poor people.” Another neighbor we met in the hallway asked, “What was the cause of death?” then murmured, “It was so hot….”

According to the coverage by the Kyunghyang Shinmun on July 29, the husband, Jin, who was over ninety years old, and his wife, Wu in her seventies, were found dead in a multiplex house in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu at around 1:30 p.m. July 27. The bodies were discovered by the police and firefighters who were dispatched to the site after a neighbor reported that water was leaking from upstairs. The decomposition of the bodies was already in progress at the time they were found. After an autopsy, the police concluded that the couple died of natural causes.

According to the statements by the community service center, welfare center, and neighbors, the couple, who had been living on the streets in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi, moved into the current home through an LH public housing project for the vulnerable in 2013. The couple had no home and no children to contact, and they did not easily get acquainted with the neighbors. A, who lived in the house one story below the couple’s house and who reported the leakage said, “They hated it when other people took interest or bothered them.” The neighbors speculated the cause of their sudden death to be the heat. B, who lived next door to the couple said, “Food kept piling up since last month, attracting flies,” and added, “A while ago, I saw Jin sitting on the second-floor stairs exhausted. I think the scorching heat had a big impact.”

The local government focused on managing the couple, who were on the basic living allowance, but faced challenges in keeping an eye on them, a schizophrenic wife and an alcoholic husband, who refused help. An official from the community service center said, “We checked the situation almost every day,” and described, “The husband was old and had no intention to cut down his drinking, so even ordinary conversations were difficult. The wife was severely schizophrenic.”

Gangrene had developed in Jin’s toes due to complications from his diabetes, but he refused treatment. C, who owns a supermarket nearby said, “He refused even when an employee from the community service center came and told him he could be treated for free.” The official from the community service center said, “The couple had no children, so we tried many times for eight years to get them hospitalized or treated through the wife’s younger sibling, who was practically their guardian, but they refused.” She further explained, “Even though they relied on the community service center for everything from their livelihood to housing and health care, they were reluctant to open their door, so it was hard to call on them. The fact that the old lady sometimes threatened us with a knife made it even harder.”

Services by the social welfare center were also suspended at the end of 2018 because the couple refused them. An official from the social welfare center that oversaw the couple said, “We could no longer provide services because they refused,” and added, “After that, we were only able to check if they were doing okay through the community service center.” One social welfare worker who worked at the welfare center in the neighborhood said, “If they refuse services, there is no way for us to intervene, and incidents like this occur fairly often.” She also said,” We conduct meetings of all these cases after gathering such cases according to each dong or gu, but I wish there was a way to override the right to self-determination and intervene when there is a consensus among various agencies.” In other words, she called for a way to force support in case of emergencies even when the person in question refuses help.

Chung Ick-joong, a professor of social welfare at Ewha Womans University said, “The fact that they refused support means it is likely that they did not form a close relationship,” and further argued, “Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, if we are to reduce the blind spots in welfare, there is a need to strengthen in-person welfare services and the monitoring ofsurroundings.”