Police: "Son Jeongmin's Friend's Phone Turned Off at 7:02 AM"...Contradicts Friend's Claim

On the 16th, when it rained nationwide, police officers were searching the mobile phone of the late Son Jeong-min's friend near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police have been continuing the search of friend A's cellphone for nearly a month in connection with the death of university student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing at Hangang Park and was later found dead. A's cellphone has been identified as a key clue that could resolve suspicions surrounding Son's death, but its whereabouts remain unknown.

On the afternoon of the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced the progress of the investigation related to Son's case at their office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. A police official stated, "Friend A's cellphone showed no usage after the last call ended at 3:38 a.m. that day, and its location information was confirmed around Hangang Park until it was powered off at 7:02 a.m. We are continuing to search the surrounding area."

Earlier, A's side released a statement through their lawyer, saying, "A's mother called A's cellphone at around 4:27 a.m. on the day when her son had not returned despite the expected time, but the call was met with a message that the phone was powered off. Therefore, A's parents believed that A's cellphone had been turned off all along." This implies that the phone was already off before the time the police stated it was last powered off.

Regarding this, the police explained, "It has been confirmed that A's cellphone was finally powered off at 7:02 a.m., but whether it was turned on before that time cannot be determined at this point."

On the day Son went missing, the 25th of last month, A was holding Son's cellphone after Son disappeared and later handed it over to Son's family. Son's cellphone was not found on him when he was discovered dead in the Han River. Accordingly, the police are continuing the search operation for this cellphone in cooperation with the Navy and others. Separately, the civilian volunteer team conducting search operations ended their activities on the 15th.

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