Son Jeongmin's Father: "Police Initial Response Inadequate... Investigation Cannot Be Closed Without Confirming Movements of Jeongmin and Friend"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Son Hyun (50), the father of university student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was found dead at Seoul Hangang Park, expressed regret over the police's inadequate initial investigation. He urged the police to conduct additional investigations into Mr. A and his family, who were with Jeong-min.

On the 26th, Son Hyun stated in a press release, "Considering my child's personality, I requested the investigation to be treated as an accident from the time of disappearance, but the investigation into the only related person, A, was delayed." He claimed, "As far as I know, A's blood alcohol concentration, body injuries, and signs of a fight on the morning of the disappearance have not been investigated." He added, "Important evidence such as shoes and T-shirts were discarded and not submitted the day after the disappearance, on the 26th of last month, and the remaining clothes and laptop were only submitted on the 10th day after the disappearance, on the 4th of this month." He also said, "The iPad that was in possession on the day of disappearance was submitted on the 15th day after the disappearance, on the 9th of this month."

He continued, "To resolve the numerous raised suspicions and to supplement the inadequate initial response, it is necessary to collect more information related to A and his family," and added, "To secure the testimony of A, the only person related to this case, additional interviews using video analysis, lie detectors, and profilers should be conducted." He also emphasized, "Without accurately identifying the actual movements and confirming the paths and movements of Jeong-min and A in the footage, the investigation cannot be concluded."

Son Hyun said, "A suddenly proposed a drinking gathering to Jeong-min late at night, and although they were together until the end, A never came to the scene to look for Jeong-min after the disappearance, and only reluctantly visited the funeral home late at night with an adult due to media interviews." He added, "A's parents have consistently remained silent rather than making efforts to explain several suspicious circumstances to the bereaved family."

He continued, "If A's family had explained the various suspicious circumstances to the bereaved family from the beginning, or at least made some effort to explain, would the police investigation have been necessary then?" He questioned, "The bereaved family does not know how to accept this situation where it is said that the police investigation will reveal the truth while apologizing for not fulfilling their duty to comfort the family's grief."

Son Hyun also explained Jeong-min's drinking habits. He said, "There were two previous occasions when I asked the police to track his location because of Jeong-min's habit of falling asleep when drunk, and all of these were during his freshman year in 2019." He added, "I had him install a location application to warn him and raise awareness to prevent accidents."

He further said, "On the day of disappearance, around 1:24 a.m. on the 25th of last month, I received a text saying, 'There are many people around, and I am not drinking anymore,' and on days when I got such replies, he never broke his promise to stop drinking and come home soon, so I felt relieved." He added, "Since it was the first weekend after a difficult six-week anatomy practicum and biweekly exams starting from February, I could not stop him from going out to Hangang Park with friends, and since there were many people and he said he was not drinking more, I could not urge him to come home quickly."

Regarding blood alcohol concentration and the possibility of slipping, he explained, "If it is revealed that Jeong-min was too drunk to move, it will become even clearer that he did not enter the Hangang alone, so there was no reason or need to deliberately hide this." He said, "The police did not officially announce this, and I was told by the police that blood alcohol concentration is not meaningful in drowning cases due to decomposition, so I responded that he was intoxicated."

He added, "Except for swimming with proper equipment like swimsuits in safe, supervised places with others, Jeong-min never impulsively entered the sea or river, and he usually did not enjoy water, so it is impossible that he entered the dark Hangang alone on a chilly day of disappearance, even considering his intoxicated state." He also said, "According to what I heard from people around, considering the terrain, the possibility of drowning due to slipping is also ruled out."

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