Increasing Witnesses... Could It Be a Clue in the Han River Missing University Student Case?

"Key to Solving Missing Person Case Witness"
"Witness Testimonies with Video and Photos Have Higher Credibility"

On the 11th, police forces were conducting a search of the late Son Jung-min's friend's mobile phone near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[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 number of witnesses claiming to have seen Son and his friend Mr. A on the day of the incident is increasing. Experts point out that while these witnesses can provide important clues, utmost care must be taken in assessing their credibility and significance.

According to the police on the 13th, the Seocho Police Station identified two additional witnesses and secured their statements on the 11th. It is also known that two others who were at Hangang Park with them will soon give statements to the police. Once the police secure these statements, the number of witness groups for this case will increase from 5 groups with 7 people to at least 6 groups with 11 people.

Experts emphasize that witnesses are key to solving missing person cases. Professor Lee Geon-su of the Department of Police Science at Baekseok University said, "If the statements of witnesses at the scene related to the missing time and place align with objective facts, they play an important role in the investigation," adding, "Simple witnesses are only reference materials, and having more witnesses is not necessarily better." He continued, "Securing witnesses is the most important part of the initial investigation of a missing person case, but it seems that in this investigation, there has been a delay in securing them."

There is also an explanation that statements from witnesses who present videos or photos have higher credibility. Earlier, on the 11th, one of the witnesses secured by Seocho Police released a photo showing a man presumed to be Son lying down and Mr. A wearing a baseball jumper and carrying a bag while sitting. It is reported that this witness stayed around Son and Mr. A for about 50 minutes and testified to the police that "Son was lying on the ground, and his friend Mr. A was wandering nearby before lying down next to Son again."

Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University said, "Statements from witnesses who present videos or photos have high credibility," and added, "Testimonies relying solely on memory have a high possibility of being inaccurate according to prior research." He further stated, "The possibility of errors in testimonies cannot be excluded, and if errors exist, they distort the facts and can hinder the investigation. The police must be cautious in verifying whether there are errors in witness statements through on-site investigations and other means."

Meanwhile, the police are focusing their investigative efforts on reconstructing the movements of Son and Mr. A on the day of the disappearance, last month 25th. In particular, there is a lack of accurate information about their whereabouts between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., leaving many questions. It is reported that Mr. A called his parents on his phone at 3:30 a.m. on the day of the disappearance, saying, "Jeong-min fell asleep, but he is drunk and cannot be woken up," and returned home alone about an hour later. However, some witnesses commonly testified that around 3:40 a.m., "Mr. A was waking Son up."

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