"'Like Bowing to Receive a Bow...' Apology from 'The Real Story' Production Team over Late Son Jeong-min Suspicion Broadcast"

A capture from episode 1263 of 'Unanswered Questions' aired on the 29th of last month, titled 'Suspicions, Memories, and Rumors - The Secret of the Death of the Missing University Student in Hangang.' Photo by Son Hyun's blog

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The SBS program "Unanswered Questions" (hereafter referred to as "UQ") production team, which covered the suspicions related to the death of university student the late Son Jeong-min, who was found dead after going missing at Seoul Hangang Park, has acknowledged errors in the broadcast content and issued an apology.

Earlier, on the 31st of last month, Son Hyun posted on his blog to refute some parts of the "UQ" episode aired on the 29th titled "Suspicions, Memories, and Rumors - The Secret of the University Student's Death Missing in Hangang."

On the 1st, Jeong-min’s father, Son Hyun (50), posted a message titled "Apology" on his blog expressing his feelings. Son Hyun said, "It has been noisy since the 'UQ' broadcast," and lamented, "Nothing related to Jeong-min is simple, not even the phone that was found."

He added, "It may seem like a groveling apology, but I am relieved to clear up even one misunderstanding," and posted a screenshot of the apology message uploaded on the official "UQ" website’s viewer board.

The broadcast conveyed expert opinions suggesting a low possibility of homicide in Son Jeong-min’s death and partially revealed messenger records between Son Jeong-min and his friend, as well as voice recordings of friend A’s conversations.

On the morning of the 26th of last month, a memorial space for Son Jeong-min was set up at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Son Hyun posted a screenshot of the "actual conversation voice of friend A" scene, claiming, "The Jeong-min shown in the subtitles is not our Jeong-min," and stated, "There is another friend named **, but whether intentionally or by mistake, the subtitle showed Jeong-min."

He continued, "It creates a misunderstanding as if the two drank together and our Jeong-min passed out and A took care of him," and said, "I requested a correction from the 'UQ' PD, but there was no response and it still has not been changed," demanding a correction.

In response, the "UQ" production team posted on the official website’s viewer board on the 1st, acknowledging some errors in the broadcast and apologizing to the bereaved family and viewers.

The "UQ" production team stated, "We have corrected and re-uploaded the content on the 'UQ' 1263rd episode aired on May 29, regarding the mentioned by Son Hyun on his personal blog."

They explained, "We reviewed the entire recorded conversation file between Son Jeong-min’s family and friend A’s family from that day," and added, "Considering the context of the conversation, we judged that it referred to an occasion when 'Son Jeong-min once passed out like this in the past' and was taken care of."

Furthermore, they said, "However, after cross-checking again with Son Jeong-min’s father and friend A’s side, it was confirmed that the subject of the sentence was another person B, whose name and pronunciation are similar to Son Jeong-min’s, and who was also a friend close to both Son Jeong-min and A," and conveyed, "We apologize to Son Jeong-min’s father Son Hyun and to the viewers."

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