Late Son Jeong-min's Father: "I Thought Friend Only Threw Away Shoes... Learned Another Fact"

"Suspicion Arises Even While Preparing the Statement"
Earlier, the Bereaved Family's Statement Demanded Police Supplementary Investigation

On the morning of the 26th, while the police investigation into the accident involving medical student the late Son Jeong-min, who was found dead after going missing in the Han River, was ongoing, a citizen was looking at the memorial space for Son set up at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Son Hyun, the father of university student Son Jeongmin (22), who was found dead after going missing in Hangang Park, has repeatedly raised suspicions about Jeongmin's friend A. Earlier, the Jeongmin family, including Mr. Son, issued a statement expressing doubts about A's behavior on the day of the accident and urged the police to conduct further investigations.

On the 27th, Mr. Son wrote on his blog, "I have released a statement that I prepared over several days," adding, "Actually, I only helped a little; Jeongmin's mother wrote it after several days of not eating or drinking."

Mr. Son pointed out that it is hard to drop suspicions about friend A, who drank together with Jeongmin until the day he went missing. He expressed doubts, saying, "Even while writing the statement, suspicions kept arising, and I found out that not only shoes but also a T-shirt were discarded."

Regarding the police announcement, he said, "In the end, it feels like a meaningless announcement," adding, "Only some innocent socks appeared, and my sister cried a lot after seeing the socks Jeongmin used to wear."

The CCTV footage of Hangang Park released by Jeongmin's father, Son Hyun, on the 23rd. Friend A is seen climbing over the fence and heading into the park. / Photo by JTBC Broadcast Capture

Earlier, the Jeongmin family released a 13-page statement on A4 paper on the 26th. Although Mr. Son has continuously posted on his personal blog, this is the first time a statement has been released under the family's name.

In this statement, the family claimed, "When we first learned of Jeongmin's disappearance, we did not suspect A at all and rather expressed consideration and gratitude. However, on the third day of the disappearance, the 27th of last month, we found out through the police that A and his father had hidden the fact that they had a phone call around 3:37 a.m. on the day of the disappearance, and we also learned of several other actions by A and his family that are hard to accept."

The family raised suspicions including △ A and his family not contacting Jeongmin’s family △ A discarding a T-shirt and shoes at the time of the accident △ A not appearing intoxicated while moving to Hangang Park.

The family also claimed that the initial police investigation was insufficient and demanded supplementary investigations. They urged, "From the time of the disappearance, we requested the investigation to be treated as an accident, but the investigation of the only related person, friend A, was delayed," and called for focused investigations including video analysis, lie detector tests, and additional interviews with profilers.

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