Thigh struck with rock if fall asleep: Korean man dies from 3-week challenge to settle dispute

SEOUL — A man was found dead and another critically injured inside a car parked along a highway in South Korea, in what investigators suspect resulted from a deadly game meant to settle a simmering feud over money.

South Korean police said both men were discovered on Monday (July 31) with severe wounds to the thigh.

An autopsy showed one of the men died of excessive bleeding and sepsis, resulting from an injury inflicted by a rock.

Investigators said the two men were friends who met through an online game three years ago.

But they had a long-running financial row, and they decided to settle it by living inside a car and holding a "marathon debate" there that was said to have lasted for three weeks.

Along the way, they reportedly decided to hit each other's thighs with a rock five times whenever the other fell asleep.

The pummeling had gotten so severe that both sustained cuts in their hands.

Then on Saturday, at around 11.40am, one of them finally succumbed to his wounds.

Police said they were also considering the possibility that the two men were so immersed in their bizarre game that they had already lost touch with reality.

The two men were reported to have signed a contract that included a clause that penalised falling asleep with a blow to the thigh with a rock.

The man who survived has been sent to a hospital, and is facing manslaughter charges. 

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.