Friend's Phone Found After a Month... Jeongmin's Father Says "Doubts Greater Than Expectations"

Son Hyun "Suddenly Found After a Month of Disappearance, Suspicious"
"Someone Might Have Manipulated and Placed It" Raises Doubts

The late Son Jung-min's father, Son Hyun, expressed a cautious response regarding the discovery of friend A's mobile phone, saying, "There are more suspicions than expectations." / Photo by YTN Broadcast Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Amid the discovery of friend A’s cellphone, considered a key clue to accurately determine the circumstances of the late Son Jeong-min’s death, Jeong-min’s father, Son Hyun, raised suspicions, saying, "It was suddenly found after a month of disappearance."

According to multiple media reports on the 30th of last month, at around 11:29 a.m., an employee at the Banpo Information Center in Hangang Park submitted a cellphone to the police, saying, "A sanitation worker found it." Investigation revealed that the cellphone belonged to A.

Son responded cautiously. In an interview with YTN that day, he said, "It is suspicious that it was suddenly found after a month of disappearance," adding, "Isn’t there a high possibility that someone manipulated it and placed it there? Rather than hoping, there are more suspicions, and I cannot simply be happy about it."

The cellphone was reported to be functioning normally. The police plan to continue the investigation by confirming the exact circumstances of the cellphone’s discovery with the sanitation worker who found it, and conducting digital forensics and bloodstain analysis on the cellphone.

Earlier, on the 25th of last month, A, who had been drinking with Jeong-min until dawn and then fell asleep, returned home alone around 4 a.m. carrying Jeong-min’s cellphone. During this process, A’s cellphone was lost. Because of this, some speculated that "A pretended to lose the cellphone and hid it."

Police conducting a search of friend A's mobile phone near Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

However, A stated in police investigation that he could not remember why the cellphone was switched due to blackout (temporary memory loss) caused by intoxication on the day Jeong-min went missing.

The police have continued searching for A’s cellphone near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park, where Jeong-min disappeared. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Mobile Unit and the civilian search team “Atom” searched through bushes and riverbeds but ultimately did not find it.

Eventually, the cellphone was found about a month after the incident on May 30th, following a report by the information center employee.

This cellphone has been identified as an important clue to understanding the circumstances of Jeong-min’s death. Digital forensics could greatly help reconstruct specific details of the day he went missing.

A's father, who appeared on the SBS current affairs program 'Unanswered Questions' broadcast on the 29th of last month / Photo by SBS

Meanwhile, A’s side urged people to refrain from spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about A and his family online.

In a statement released on the 29th of last month, A’s lawyer, Attorney Jung Byungwon, said, "While the bereaved family may speculate and raise suspicions in their own way, presuming that all responsibility lies solely with A is an excessively result-oriented speculation."

He added, "Baseless speculation, raising suspicions, spreading false information, insults, doxxing, and other illegal acts are still ongoing," emphasizing, "We sincerely ask that all related posts on the internet be deleted, and from this point forward, we request that no further harm occur."

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