A senior at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology was found dead after apparently jumping to his death Thursday.
The death sent shock waves through the nation’s top science university, which saw a string of suicides last year.
A fellow student found the body of the 22-year-old man, whose name was withheld, on the lawn in the dormitory complex at 5:40 a.m.
Police suspect he jumped from the 15th floor of the building.
The student left a suicide note inside his room, in which he reportedly expressed anxiety about the future and apologized to his family.
“My passion is gone. I’m sorry to my family,” the note was quoted by police.
The student entered KAIST in 2007. After being discharged from military service, he went back to school in February. His academic performance was excellent, school officials said.
KAIST president Suh Nam-pyo expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
“As the chief of the school, I feel deeply sorry and saddened. On behalf of all KAIST people, I express condolences,” he was quoted by the university’s spokesman as saying during an emergency meeting of senior officials on Thursday morning.
The president directed the officials to form a special team and devise measures to prevent a recurrence.
The elite school was rocked by the suicides of four students and a prominent life science professor between January and April 2011.
Critics blamed the school’s policies for fueling competition among both students and faculty and its failure to take care of students’ psychological problems.
As part of his reform drive, the KAIST president in 2007 overhauled the school’s scholarship system, linking fees to grades. Students whose grade averages were less than 3.0 out of a maximum 4.3 had to pay up to 6 million won ($5,538) a year in tuition.
In July last year, the school eased the rule, which had been said to have weighed down on many underperforming students, .
Critics say strain stemming from academic pressure was the main cause of the student deaths. But many argue that these problems also exist in other universities in Korea.
Last year, excessive competitiveness and indifference between students in several law schools was blamed for numerous suicide attempts, and four students of Korea National University of Art killed themselves. Students of KNUA said results-oriented approach by the school alienated most students.
By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 한글 기사>
카이스트 학생, 또 투신 자살
17일 오전 5시 40분께 대전시 유성구 한국과학기술원(KAIST) 기숙사 앞 잔디밭에서 이 학교 4학년 A(22)씨가 쓰러져 있는 것을 지 나가던 학생이 발견해 병원으로 옮겼으나 숨졌다.
경찰은 A씨가 오전 4시 35분께 혼자 엘리베이터를 타 15층에서 내리는 장면이 CCTV에 찍혀 있는 점 등으로 미뤄 스스로 목숨을 끊은 것으로 추정하고 있다.
A씨의 방에서는 '열정이 사라졌다. 가족들에게 미안하다'는 내용의 메모가 발견 됐다.
2007학년도에 KAIST에 입학한 A씨는 군대를 다녀와 지난 2월 복학했으며, 학업 성적도 우수한 편으로 알려졌다.
KAIST 측은 이날 오전 서남표 총장 지시에 따라 보직교수 등이 참석한 긴급 상황점검회의를 열고 교학부총장, 학생지원본부장, 학생생활처장, 학생부장, 홍보실장 , 상담센터장 등 6명으로 구성된 비상대책팀을 꾸려, 재발방지 대책을 마련하기로 했다.
이날 두원수 홍보실장은 서 총장이 회의를 주재하는 자리에서 "학교 책임자로서 가슴 아픈 일이 발생한 데 대해 유가족에게 죄송스럽고 비통한 마음이며, KAIST 전 직원과 함께 애도를 표한다"고 말했다고 밝혔다.
그러면서 서 총장은 "사건의 원인을 규명하는 대로 재발방지를 위한 다각적인 대책을 강구하라"고 지시했다고 전했다.
KAIST에서는 지난해 1월 전문계고 출신 '로봇영재' 조모(19)군을 시작으로 같은 해 4월 7일 과학영재학교 출신의 휴학생인 박모(19)군까지 학생 4명이 스스로 목숨을 끊었다. 이어 4월 10일에는 생명과학분야에서 세계적인 석학으로 인정받았던 박모 교수가 자살해 큰 충격을 줬다. (연합뉴스)
