'Mystery at 3:30 AM'... What Happened to Jeongmin? [Han Seunggon's Case Notes]

Strong Suspicion Raised Over Late Jeong Min's Father's Accidental Death
Switched Cell Phones on Incident Day, Friend A Discarded Shoes Worn at the Time
Unable to Track Friend A's Cell Phone Location
Jeong Min's Father: "I Will Spend All My Own Money to Find the Cell Phone"

On the afternoon of the 30th of last month, rescue workers recovered the body of university student Son Jeong-min, who was found dead after being missing for six days, in the Han River near Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Suspicions surrounding the accident of medical student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul on the 25th of last month and was found dead six days later, are growing.

Jeong-min’s father, Son Hyun, has raised key suspicions regarding friend A, who was with them on the day of the incident, carrying his son's phone instead of his own, and the fact that when he tried to see A’s shoes, A’s father said they had been "thrown away."

Currently, Jeong-min’s father insists that his son did not simply fall accidentally but drowned due to some external physical force, ultimately claiming it was a violent crime rather than an accident. Friend A visited Jeong-min’s funeral home early this morning (the 4th) but was not allowed to pay respects by the bereaved family.

◆ What happened on the day of the incident... The '1-hour gap' mystery where friends who were playing together drifted apart

On the night of the 24th last month, around 10:30 PM, Jeong-min and his friend A met and drank together at Hangang Park. Around 1:30 AM the next day, Jeong-min chatted with his mother via KakaoTalk. Around 1:50 AM, he also recorded a video of the drinking scene on his phone.

At 3:30 AM, A called his mother and said, "Jeong-min is drunk and sleeping, but he doesn’t wake up even if I try." At that time, A used his own phone.

After the call, A went back to sleep, and when he woke up an hour later, Jeong-min was gone. Thinking Jeong-min had gone home first, A packed his laptop and phone and headed home. This was around 4:30 AM.

A was captured alone heading home on the Banpo Entrance closed-circuit (CCTV). Afterwards, A returned to Hangang Park with his parents to look for Jeong-min, and when they couldn’t find him, A called Jeong-min’s mother around 5:30 AM.

On the afternoon of the 30th of last month, a private rescuer guarded the site where the body of a university student who had gone missing six days earlier was found at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul, along with a search dog.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong-min’s mother called her son’s phone, but the phone was actually in A’s possession. It is reported that A said that when he came home, Jeong-min’s phone was in his coat pocket.

Upon hearing the news, Jeong-min’s father went to Hangang Park and tried calling the phone, thinking Jeong-min might have it, but the call did not connect and the phone was turned off around 7 AM. The last signal was detected at the 'Seobinggo-dong base station in Yongsan-gu, Seoul,' directly opposite the Banpo Hangang Park water taxi dock where the two had been drinking.

Ultimately, six days after the disappearance, on the afternoon of the 30th last month, Jeong-min was found dead near the disappearance site by private rescuer Cha Jong-wook.

Summarizing the situation, Jeong-min was alive at 3:30 AM on the 25th. An hour later, at 4:30 AM, when A left the scene heading home, Jeong-min was no longer there. Therefore, uncovering what happened to Jeong-min during this one-hour gap is likely the key to resolving the suspicions.

On the afternoon of the 30th of last month, rescue workers recovered the body of university student Son Jeong-min, who was found dead six days after going missing, in the Han River near Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Continuing suspicions... 'Switched phones,' 'Discarded A’s shoes'

A brought Jeong-min’s phone to his own home. There is a possibility that the two phones were switched while both were intoxicated on the day of the incident.

However, A’s phone was not found on Jeong-min when he was discovered in the Han River. At the time of discovery, only a wallet was found in Jeong-min’s pocket. The wallet was the only personal item he took when leaving home.

Jeong-min’s father, Son Hyun (50), said, "I believe A’s phone could be at the bottom of the Han River near the disappearance point," and added, "I will spend all my own money to hire private divers to find the phone."

As suspicions around the phone grow, the missing shoes of A have also become a point of controversy. At his son’s funeral, Son said, "A said that he and my son rolled in the mud, so his shoes and pants got dirty, and when I asked A’s father if I could see the shoes, he immediately said they had been thrown away." He added, "There is no mud at Hangang Park, and it doesn’t make sense that the shoes were thrown away or that such an answer came so quickly."

Additionally, it is suspicious that A’s parents did not contact him directly when they came out to look for Jeong-min at the Han River.

Experts have analyzed that two questions must be resolved in this case. Profiler Bae Sang-hoon said in an interview with YTN Radio’s program 'Lee Dong-hyung’s News Face-Off,' "The issue is why the phones were switched. One is a Galaxy phone and the other is an Apple phone, so we need to find a reasonable explanation for why they were switched."

He continued, "We need to analyze from a criminal behavior perspective why the friend’s phone location appeared in Gangbuk. We tried hypnotizing the friend twice, but nothing came out, so I think the answer lies there."

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that friend A visited Jeong-min’s funeral home early on the 4th. However, Jeong-min’s father did not accept his condolences. Through a media outlet, Son said, "They (A’s parents) couldn’t even show their faces and came with relatives instead," adding, "I told them it was too late and to leave," and "It seems they came to pay respects when no one else was around."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.