A policeman saves a woman from cardiac arrest at restaurant.

A middle-aged woman who collapsed from cardiac arrest at a restaurant in Seoul was saved thanks to the prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of a police officer at the scene.

According to the police and fire department on Wednesday, a middle-aged woman dropped to the floor while dining at a restaurant in Seongdong-gu, Seoul at 7 p.m. on March 29. She was not breathing. It was cardiac arrest.

Sergeant Byeon Hae-sol (42, photo), a Crime Prevention and Response Department member at Seongdong Police Station, was the first to help at the scene. After work, he was eating with his wife at the following table. As soon as he spotted the woman, he asked his wife to “call 119 quickly” and immediately began CPR. A minute later, the woman regained consciousness and raised herself after exhaling. She was transported to an ambulance and treated.

Byeon is known to have looked up and searched for first aid training videos on YouTube in addition to the regular first aid training provided at work. He continued to study after witnessing a fellow soldier during military service collapse. “I was impressed by his proactiveness, asking questions to learn,” said a colleague at work. “He is always full of energy, cheerfully returning to work in the morning after working all night.”

“I was so focused on CPR that I didn’t notice the ambulance arrive,” Byeon said. “I just did what I had to do as a police officer, and I believe someday that perhaps the goodwill I dedicated to will return to my daughter.”


임재혁 heok@donga.com