[Summary] Police: "Son Jeongmin's National Forensic Service Autopsy Result 'Presumed Drowning' Response"... Witness Who Woke Friend Also Reported

"Likely Died Within 2-3 Hours After Drinking"

Witness Testimony Around 4:20 AM
"Friend Was Asleep, Tried to Wake Them"

The spot where A, a friend of Son Jeong-min, was lying down. A police official explained, "He was not lying on the dirt area," adding, "He was lying with his feet stretched toward the Han River and his head toward the grass."
[Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The police investigating the case of university student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was found dead at Seoul Hangang Park, received a response from the National Forensic Service (NFS) indicating that the autopsy results suggest 'drowning' as the cause of death.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official told reporters on the 13th, "We received the autopsy report from the NFS yesterday," adding, "The cause of death is presumed to be drowning, and injuries such as two head wounds and a left laceration (torn wound) are considered unlikely to be the cause of death."

He continued, "There is a result indicating death occurred within 2 to 3 hours after drinking," explaining, "The precise interpretation of the autopsy is that death occurred relatively shortly after the last drinking."

The police also disclosed new witness statements that help trace the movements of Jeong-min and his friend A. The official said, "At around 4:20 a.m. on the day of disappearance, a witness saw A carrying a bag and lying down asleep on the grassy slope and woke him up," adding, "The witness thought it was dangerous and woke him, and A got up and they talked." He also said, "There were common testimonies that Jeong-min and A were lying or sitting near a mat from 2:00 a.m. to 3:38 a.m.," and "A witness testified that A was on a call while sitting next to Jeong-min."

Jeong-min drank with A near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park from around 11 p.m. on the 24th of last month. In particular, there was no accurate information about their whereabouts between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., raising several questions. It was reported that A called his parents on his phone at 3:30 a.m. on the day of the disappearance and said, "Jeong-min fell asleep, but he is too drunk to wake up," and about an hour later, A returned home alone. A's mother tried to call A around 4:30 a.m., but he did not answer, and A arrived home around 4:50 a.m.

The police have so far investigated six groups of witnesses, totaling nine people, related to this case. It was confirmed that Jeong-min and A purchased two 640ml bottles of soju, two bottles of Cheongha, and three bottles of Makgeolli in three separate instances.

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