Cabby Killed, Possibly in Suicide Pact; 2 Arrested

A cabdriver shot to death in a taxi at the Newport Pier might have had a suicide pact with two other cabdrivers in the same car, police said Thursday.

The other two men were arrested minutes after the shooting Wednesday, and police are trying to sort out what happened.

According to Newport Beach investigators, the three drank alcohol and drove around Orange County for much of the day before ending up in Newport Beach about 7 p.m. Police aren’t sure what precipitated the shooting, but said all three had discussed suicide earlier in the day, apparently because of their financial problems.

In Hyang Baek, 55, of Garden Grove was sitting in the front passenger’s seat when someone shot him once in the head.

Two fellow cabdrivers, Chae Jung Han, 53, of Garden Grove, and David Keum Yung Ji, 52, of Anaheim, were arrested, said Sgt. Mike McDermott.

Liquor and a handgun were found in the cab.

“They drove to the beach, and at some point, one of the two picked up the gun and shot the right front passenger and killed him,” McDermott said. “We don’t know if this was a suicide pact, or whether one was supposed to do another. But apparently suicide was a topic of conversation.”