South Korea administrative robot defunct after apparent suicide

Seoul: A city council in South Korea said Wednesday their first administrative officer robot was defunct after throwing itself down some stairs, with...

Seoul: A city council in South Korea said Wednesday their first administrative officer robot was defunct after throwing itself down some stairs, with local media mourning the country's first robot suicide.

South Korea's Gumi City Council announced the robot was found unresponsive after having apparently fallen down a two-meter (six-and-a-half foot) staircase last week.

Witnesses saw the robot officer "circling in one spot as if something was there" before the accident occurred, but the exact cause of the fall is still being investigated, a city council official told AFP.

"Pieces have been collected and will be analysed by the company," the official said, adding that the robot had "helped with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and delivered information" to local residents.

"It was officially a part of the city hall, one of us," another official said. "It worked diligently."