Police are investigating the deaths of two Korean tourists, reported as husband and wife, who lost their lives while paragliding at Tanah Barak Kutuh Beach in South Kuta on Thursday, 17 July 2025, at about 12:30 p.m..
BeritaBali.com reports that police are reviewing the tragedy to determine what role negligence may have had in the deaths.
AKP Ketut Sukadi, a spokesman for the Denpasar Police, identified the two South Koreans as Hwang Jina (41), a female, and Han Soejin (43), her husband. The couple arrived in Bali on 11 July 2025, as part of a paragliding tour group. The couple was staying at the Sun Island Hotel in Kuta.
Officer Sukadi explained that the South Koreans were using motorized paragliders. They brought their paragliding equipment to Bali.
Friends told police that the two Koreans were acknowledged expert-level paragliders who held paragliding licenses issued in Korea. Both were paragliding enthusiasts who had visited several countries in the pursuit of their hobby. Police were also told that the two Koreans and other members of the group had successfully passed medical examinations before departing for Bali from South Korea.
The group of South Korean paragliders arrived at the Panda Paragliding Headquarters at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday under the supervision of their instructor, Sun Hyung Lim, who inspected the participants’ equipment before take-off.
In quick succession, Jinah Hwang and Han Soejin were among the first to take flight. They had been airborne for about 10 minutes before encountering a sudden change of wind direction. The change in wind conditions prompted the two and a third companion, SK, to attempt a quick landing of their paragliders.
SK was able to land safely on the beach next to the cliff face.
Unfortunately, Jinah Hwang and Han Soejin crashed into the ocean about 4 meters from the shoreline.
According to police, the two who died in the mishap panicked and were unable to release their harnesses, forcing their bodies under water as friends and locals tried in vain to rescue the South Koreans.
The two Koreans, both unconscious, were dragged to shore. They were rushed to the nearby Pandawa Clinic before being referred to the Surya Husada Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. The bodies of the couple were then transported to the morgue of the Bali Mandara Hospital in Denpasar.
The families of the two Koreans have requested that they be cremated in Bali, with their cremated remains to be repatriated to South Korea.
Police continue to investigate the deaths by gathering statements from witnesses, travel companions, employees of Panda Paragliding, the Korean instructor, and medical staff.
Related Links
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