Police Investigate Son Jeong-min's Friend and Father as Witnesses in Han River University Student Death Case

Digital Forensics on Friend's Mother's Mobile Phone Also Conducted

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Regarding the case of university student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was found dead at Seoul Hangang Park, the police announced that they have investigated friend A, who was with him until the end, and A's father as witnesses, and have obtained A's mother's mobile phone voluntarily for digital forensic analysis.

Jang Ha-yeon, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a press briefing on the 10th, "We investigated A and A's father as witnesses yesterday," adding, "We will continue to pay attention until the substantive truth is discovered." Commissioner Jang also added, "We obtained A's mother's mobile phone voluntarily and conducted digital forensics."

A and A's father were questioned separately for about 10 hours, each accompanied by a lawyer. The investigation mainly focused on A, with additional questioning of the father.

Additionally, the police conducted digital forensics on A's mother's mobile phone, which was voluntarily submitted. A police official explained, "We thought the call around 3:30 a.m. on the day of the disappearance should be examined first, so we received the phone last week and completed the forensics over the weekend."

Regarding the police securing CCTV footage showing A's family disposing of A's shoes, and the criticism that the person who discarded the shoes differs from the initially reported individual, the official responded, "That is correct."

Earlier, Son Hyun (50), Jeong-min's father, expressed his feelings in an interview with a media outlet, saying, "I saw news reports that CCTV footage was secured. It was surprising because it was different from what I heard." He also explained, "The person who discarded the shoes was not that person. The testimony and the footage do not match." Previously, it was reported that the police had heard testimony from A's father regarding the disposal of A's shoes.

When asked whether the witness investigation was delayed, a police official responded, "It has been a week since the investigation shifted from autopsy to investigation," and denied that it was late.

Jeong-min went missing after drinking with A near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park from around 11 p.m. on the 24th of last month until around 2 a.m. the next day, and was found dead underwater in the Hangang River five days later on the 30th. The police have requested the National Forensic Service to conduct an autopsy on Jeong-min's body to investigate the cause of death.

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