South Korean Mother Hopes Son Who Died Trying to Rescue Japanese Stranger Can Bridge Nations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:17 JST, January 27, 2026

On the 25th anniversary of the accident in which a South Korean student died while trying to rescue a man on the train tracks at JR Shin-Okubo Station in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, the student’s mother and other related parties offered prayers at the station on Monday afternoon.

Lee Soo-hyun, then 26-year-old student, was killed while attempting to save the man who had fallen off the JR Yamanote Line platform at the station on Jan. 26, 2001.

Lee’s mother, Shin Yoon-chan, 76, offered flowers at the cenotaph near the station stairs, and clasped her hands for her son on the platform while facing the tracks.

“It has been 25 years since the accident, but in my mind, [my son] is still a young man in his 20s,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Lee’s selfless action have been praised in both Japan and South Korea.

“Relations between Japan and South Korea have sometimes worsened and sometimes improved, but I hope we will develop a relationship where both sides can understand each other,” said Shin. “I hope my son will be a keystone of that relationship.”