Police Conduct Seven Witness Interviews with Son Jeong-min's Friend... Hypnosis and Forensic Investigations Also Carried Out

Mr. Son's Mobile Phone Not Used After 1:09 AM
No Complaints or Reports Filed Regarding Online Fake News

[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, revealed that they have conducted seven witness interviews with friend A, who drank with him. Alongside this, to verify the credibility of witness statements, the police are conducting both hypnotic interviews and digital forensic analysis of mobile phones.

Jang Ha-yeon, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated at a press briefing on the 24th, "There have been seven interviews with Mr. A. The first three took place initially, and after the case was reclassified as a death investigation, four more were conducted up to yesterday."

He continued, "There was a lack of CCTV coverage in the area from the beginning, making it important to find witnesses and verify the credibility of their statements," adding, "For important witness testimonies, we obtained consent from the individuals and even conducted hypnotic interviews." In addition, the police conducted on-site investigations and, with witness consent, performed mobile phone forensics. So far, two hypnotic interviews and one forensic analysis have been conducted on witnesses. However, hypnotic interviews were not conducted on the group of seven who claimed to have seen an unidentified man enter the Hangang River around 4:40 a.m. on the day of disappearance, last month 25th.

The police also plan to conduct a search based on an estimated location related to the whereabouts of Mr. A’s mobile phone, which remains unknown. A police official explained, "Analysis of location data after Mr. A’s call with his mother at 3:37 a.m. on the 25th of last month shows that from then until the phone was turned off at 7:02 a.m., it remained around Hangang Park," adding, "Therefore, it is reasonable to conduct a search around the Hangang River to find Mr. A’s mobile phone." The official also noted, "The last time Mr. A was believed to have had possession of Son’s phone was around 5:40 a.m. on the day of disappearance, as it was returned to Son’s mother at that time."

Regarding the data usage on Son’s phone during the time witnesses said he was asleep, the police provided an explanation addressing claims that someone else might have used the phone. Previously, Son’s father, Son Hyun (50), had disclosed the phone’s data usage history on his blog on the 18th, showing activity on the 25th of last month.

The official said, "Forensic results confirmed that after the last web search at 1:09 a.m. on the 25th, there was no internet or app usage," and added, "The telecom company also responded that data usage records can occur automatically due to synchronization or background app activity even when the phone is not actively used."

Furthermore, the police stated that although no complaints or lawsuits have been filed yet regarding the various fake news spreading online, they are monitoring the situation closely.

Meanwhile, the police collected soil samples from the socks Son was wearing at the time and requested the National Forensic Service to conduct comparative analysis with soil from the Hangang riverside grass, the boundary between land and water, and soil beneath the water surface. They also commissioned soil analysis of clothing submitted by friend A. The results, which could provide meaningful data to clarify Son’s movements, are expected as early as this week.

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