Civil Servant Robot Commits Suicide in South Korea

• In what's a first-ever, a robot that worked for the Gumi City Council committed suicide by throwing itself off the 2-meter-long staircase.
• The robot, nicknamed Robot Supervisor, worked a 9-4 shift like everybody else and even had its own employee card. Also, it was quite used to moving between floors using the elevator.
• The reason for the suicide is not known, but the broken pieces have been taken away to determine the cause. Meanwhile, the Gumi City Council has announced that they have no intentions to replace the robot right away.

In a bizarre incident, and certainly one that sounds straight out of a post-apocalyptic world, a civil servant robot that worked for the Gumi City Council in South Korea has committed suicide.

The deceased" robot was found by council staff at about 4 p.m. at the bottom of the staircase between the first and second floors. Apparently, it had intentionally thrown itself over a 2-meter-long staircase.

As per reports, this is the first robot suicide ever documented. Prior to this, there was another report that a robot called Steve committed suicide in Washington by drowning itself in a fountain. However, it was later ruled that it was an accident caused by skidding off a loose brick surface."

About the Robot & the Cause behind Its Suicide

The robot was built by a California-based startup called Bear Robotics. It was appointed in October 2023 (the first ever robot appointed by the Gumi City Council) and was nicknamed Robot Supervisor.

Just like all the other human" employees, it worked a 9-4 shift and even had its own employee card. Its job was to help with delivering documents and information and city promotions, and as per the staff, it was really proficient at what it did. They really thought of the robot as one of them.

Speaking of the cause of this bizarre suicide, the exact reason is unknown. Some staff reported that they saw the robot circling in one spot just a little while before the incident took place.

The smashed pieces have been collected and are currently undergoing investigation. So, until the reports are back, nothing can be said for sure. Perhaps it had loans it couldn't pay off or an inadequate work-life balance?

It's well worth noting, though, that it's highly unlikely that this was an accident because, unlike other robots in service that are usually confined to just one floor, the Robot Supervisor was used to traveling between floors through the elevator.

However, at the end of the day, it was a sophisticated piece of machinery, so it could well just be an internal fault that led to its undoing. As I said, we'll have to wait until we hear more on this from the authorities.

Will There Be Another Robot to Replace This One?

The Gumi City Council has decided against immediately replacing the robot. There might be one in the future, though, especially considering South Korea is one of the few countries that actively appoints robots in different industries.

In fact, a report by the International Federation of Robotics revealed that for every ten regular human" employees in South Korea, there's one robot employee.

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