Son Jung-min's Friend's Phone Found... Police Announce "No Criminal Connection," Could This Change the Case?

Han River Park Staff Reported to Seocho Police Station
Police Conduct Fingerprint and Forensic Analysis
Blackout Mr. A's Claim Draws Attention to His Whereabouts

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Attention is focused on how the discovery of the mobile phone belonging to A, a friend of university student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was later found dead at Hangang Park, will affect the ongoing police investigation. It has been suggested that the phone may contain clues to trace the whereabouts of Son and A on the day of the disappearance.

According to the police on the 31st, the Seoul Seocho Police Station secured A’s mobile phone after receiving a report from an employee at the Banpo Information Center in Hangang Park, who said it was found and handed over by a sanitation worker. The police are currently conducting fingerprint, bloodstain, and DNA analyses on the fully functional phone through the National Forensic Service, and are performing digital forensics on the phones of both A and the sanitation worker. Additionally, to clarify the exact circumstances of the phone’s discovery, the police are conducting forensic hypnosis on the sanitation worker and are further analyzing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

With A’s phone found about a month after the incident, interest is growing in whether the whereabouts of Son and A on the day of the disappearance, May 25, will be revealed. On that day, A called his mother at 3:37 a.m. from his phone and spoke with his father for about 1 minute and 57 seconds, during which time they were together. However, after that, until a witness appeared who testified that "they saw A lying on a slope and thought it was dangerous, so they pulled his bag and he got up" at around 4:27 a.m., A’s whereabouts remain unclear. A’s side claims that from 11:14 p.m. on May 24, the day before the disappearance, A was in a blackout state and has almost no memory.

It is uncertain whether A’s phone contains photos, videos, or messages that could clarify how Son entered the water. However, attention is focused on whether the police’s interim investigation report, which stated, "So far, no circumstances linking Son’s death to a crime have been confirmed," will change. It has been confirmed that A’s phone did not leave Hangang Park. The police stated, "A’s phone was continuously located around Hangang Park from the last call time at 3:38 a.m. on May 25 until it was turned off at 7:02 a.m."

If no key evidence related to the case emerges from A’s phone, or if no additional witnesses or CCTV footage appear, it is unlikely that the interim investigation conclusion will change. Professor Lee Yun-ho of Dongguk University’s Department of Police Administration explained, "The further the time from the incident, the more evidence disappears or is damaged. Securing witnesses also becomes much more difficult, and even if there are witnesses, their memories become unclear, making the investigation increasingly difficult."

Meanwhile, the group Banpo Hangang Incident Truth Seekers (Banjinsa) held a rally near the Rabbit Tunnel at Banpo Hangang Park on the 29th, expressing distrust in the police investigation and searching for witnesses and CCTV footage themselves. Regarding this, Professor Kwak Dae-kyung of Dongguk University’s Department of Police Administration said, "While there may be disappointment that expected results are not revealed by the police investigation, it is concerning that people take matters into their own hands instead of the police. Trust in public authority will plummet, and the law and principles may become blurred." Banjinsa has also announced a press conference scheduled for June 1 in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, demanding the release of original CCTV footage and a polygraph test for A, who was present at the scene.

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