"A Man Weeping Loudly on the Street" Not Ignored... Finally Reunited After 30 Years

Exhausted by relentless heatwaves, a homeless man in his 50s who was crying on the street has returned to the arms of his family after 30 years, thanks to police assistance.

Gyeonggi Seongnam Jungwon Police Station received a 112 emergency report from a passerby at around 7:36 AM yesterday (August 6) stating that a man was crying loudly on a street in Hadewon-dong, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam.

At the time, a heatwave warning had been in effect in the Seongnam area since two days prior, and sweltering heat persisted from early in the morning.

Police Officer Son Sung-wook (35) of the Dochon Precinct, who was dispatched to the scene, brought the homeless man, in his 50s, to the precinct.

When Officer Son asked about his situation, the man, A, confessed, "It was so hard and sorrowful to live on the streets in this hot weather, which is why I was crying."

Officer Son handed A a wet towel to lower his body temperature and kept talking to him to prevent him from losing consciousness.

During this process, A's story came to light.

A stated that he cut off contact with his family about 30 years ago, left his hometown of Yeosu in South Jeolla Province, and has been living as a homeless person in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam, for the past six years.

A, who suffers from congenital polio, explained that he left his hometown because he did not want to burden his family with medical and other financial expenses.

Upon hearing the story, Officer Son checked records showing that A's older brother, B, in his 60s, had previously filed a missing person report for his younger brother, and secured contact information.

At first, out of concern that he would be a burden to his family, A strongly refused to contact his brother.

However, after Officer Son persuaded him for about an hour, A finally agreed to make contact.

Upon receiving the call from the police, the older brother departed immediately from Yeosu and arrived at the police precinct where his younger brother was within five hours.

Embracing his younger brother after some 30 years, B shed tears and expressed his gratitude to the police, saying, "I will take my brother back to Yeosu and take good care of him."

A police official stated, "We will continue to do our utmost to carefully look after and assist citizens struggling due to the scorching heat."

(Photo: Provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.