Concert Planner Kills Self After South Korea Deaths

A South Korean man involved in planning an outdoor pop concert where 16 people were killed after falling through a ventilation grate was found dead today in an apparent suicide. The man, 37, an employee of the Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion, was found dead at around 7am in Seongnam, the city south of Seoul where yesterday's accident occurred, said city spokesman Kim Nam-jun. The site of his death was not far from where 16 people watching a performance by 4Minute, a girls' band that is popular across Asia, were killed when the ventilation grate they were standing on collapsed. Eleven other people were seriously injured.

It was believed that the man, who was questioned by police last night over the accident, leaped from the top of a 10-story building. In a televised briefing today, Kim said the death toll could rise. Of the 11 people treated at hospitals, eight had life-threatening injuries to the abdomens or lungs, he said. Most of those who were killed were men in their 30s and 40s, while five were women in their 20s and 30s, fire officials said. The collapse came as South Korea is still struggling with the aftermath of a ferry disaster in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing. (More South Korea stories.)