Another tragic incident has occurred in the Korean-American community, with yet another senior taking his own life.
According to the LA County Medical Examiner, a Korean-American senior surnamed Oh, aged 87, died by suicide using a firearm in a single-family home south of Occidental College in Northeast Los Angeles on May 8.
The coroner’s office confirmed Oh’s death as suicide, citing a gunshot wound to the head as the cause. Oh’s body will be released to his family.
This unfortunate event follows a similar incident on May 2, when a senior Korean American surnamed Lee, aged 85, was found dead by hanging in a home in the West Hills neighborhood.
This marks more than six Korean Americans who have taken their own lives in LA County this year alone, prompting concerns about the state of mental health care within the Korean American community.
Recent incidents include the suicide of a Korean-American woman surnamed Moon (37) on March 29, who was found hanged in her home on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles Koreatown.
Additionally, on February 29, a Korean-American man in his 50s killed his mother, who was in her 80s, before taking his own life in an apartment in Koreatown. On the same day, a Korean-American woman in her 40s hanged herself in a home in Rancho Palos Verdes. Further, on February 4, a Korean American surnamed Kim, aged 49, tragically jumped into a train at a railroad crossing in Monrovia and died.
The LA County Department of Mental Health and Korean-American nonprofit organizations are offering free counseling services and hotlines for suicide prevention.
In addition to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988), the Department of Mental Health (800-854-7771), Korean American Family Services (213-389-6755), Kheir Clinic (213-235-1210), and Koreatown Youth and Community Center (213-365-7400) provide free counseling from mental health professionals to those grappling with depression and other unspoken concerns.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
