A Korean youth tragically lost his life after renting a defective electric scooter. The incident has deeply saddened the Korean community in Seattle.

According to the local Korean community in Seattle, Wonjae Noh, who had come to Seattle in 2021 to study business at Seattle University and graduated in June of this year, died on October 9th after an accident involving an Uber electric scooter. He had been working since his graduation. Noh’s mother and a friend, identified as "A," shared that the accident occurred near Seattle University while Noh was riding the electric scooter with friends. It is believed that the brakes of the scooter malfunctioned, leading to the fatal accident.

According to "A," "Wonjae and his friends rented Uber electric scooters from the street using an app. While riding, Wonjae said, ‘The brakes aren’t working,’ and his friends, who were following behind, heard him say this." "A" added, "Wonjae fell and hit his head. He tried to get up on his own but collapsed again. His friends called 911, and he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he immediately underwent surgery."

Despite undergoing surgery, Noh did not regain consciousness and passed away on October 11th, three days after the accident. News of his passing has deeply impacted the faculty and friends at Seattle University, who have since rallied to bring his body back to Korea for burial. A GoFundMe campaign (www.gofundme.com/f/help-bring-won-jae-ro-home-to-rest) has been launched to raise funds to support the repatriation of his remains.