New CCTV Released by Son Jeong-min's Father: "Crossing Fence in Slippers, Drunk?"... Mr. A's Side: "Plenty of Evidence of Intoxication"

CCTV footage released by Hyun Son. Friend A is climbing over the fence. Photo by JTBC, captured from the 'Newsroom' broadcast.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] Son Hyun, the father of university student Son Jeongmin (22), who went missing and was found dead at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul, has released new closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to refute claims by friend A’s side that he was heavily intoxicated.

On the 23rd, Son revealed CCTV footage filmed at 5:12 a.m. on the day Jeongmin went missing, last month on the 25th, on JTBC Newsroom. The footage showed A returning home alone and then visiting Hangang Park again with his family. They parked their vehicle near the place where A and Jeongmin had been drinking together. A and his father got out of the car and climbed over a fence heading toward Hangang Park.

Son pointed out, “(A) climbed over two sections of the fence wearing slippers, even putting his hands on it as he walked,” adding, “There is no sign of blackout, nor does he appear to be intoxicated.”

He continued, “They went straight to that place (where A and Jeongmin drank) without contacting us,” expressing suspicion about A’s claim of being heavily intoxicated by saying, “Who else would have told them that location but a friend? Yet that friend says he doesn’t remember because he was drunk?”

The footage also captured A and his father lingering near the riverbank. Son said, “They kept going back and forth only there (on the river slope),” and lamented, “After about 20 minutes, the friend started moving a bit, but the father stayed there. Shouldn’t he have searched for where the kid might have gone if he looked around once and didn’t find him?”

Son argued that since A only mentioned that he ‘rolled’ the day after Jeongmin’s disappearance, it is important to clarify what happened on the ‘river slope.’

Meanwhile, A’s lawyer told JTBC, “The footage is short and fragmentary, so it’s difficult to say whether he was intoxicated or not based on that alone,” adding, “Many people behave normally even in a blackout state.”

Furthermore, the lawyer said, “Witnesses saw him vomiting, and when (A) returned home, he was still heavily intoxicated and vomited again immediately after getting out of the car in the parking lot,” emphasizing, “There is plenty of objective evidence proving (A) was heavily intoxicated.”

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