Mentally Disabled Person Found Dead in Songnisan... Deleted CCTV Footage Revealed

Long-term Stay Motel Owner Arrested on Charges of Violating the Disabled Welfare Act and Embezzlement

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Circumstances have emerged indicating that a man in his 50s with an intellectual disability, who went missing and was found dead in August in Sogrisan, Boeun-gun, Chungbuk, was abused and extorted by the owner of a motel near Sogrisan.

On the 25th, the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency announced that they have arrested motel owner B, who had been housing A (50), a person with a level 2 intellectual disability, on charges including violation of the Disabled Welfare Act and embezzlement, and are currently investigating. B is suspected of taking millions of won from A’s disability pension, basic living allowance, and other funds, as well as abusing him.

A, who had been staying and working at a motel near Sogrisan National Park for about 20 years, left the motel on July 30th saying he was going out briefly but suddenly disappeared. At that time, he said he was going to see the media art show "Feast of Light" held at Beopjusa Temple in Sogrisan, but he vanished without a trace.

When A did not return for four days, motel owner B reported him missing to the police.

In response, the police mobilized hundreds of people, including firefighters, county officials, the Marine Corps Veterans Association, mountain rescue teams, and pest control units, as well as search dogs and drones, to find the missing A.

However, A was found dead around 11:10 a.m. on August 19th, 20 days after his disappearance, about 800 meters from Beopjusa Temple.

The police initially presumed A’s cause of death to be accidental fall and proceeded with the investigation. During this process, they discovered that all the CCTV footage from the motel where A worked had been deleted. Finding this suspicious, the police restored and analyzed two months’ worth of CCTV footage and captured evidence of B assaulting A.

They also confirmed that B had taken millions of won from A’s disability pension and basic living allowance under the pretense of managing the funds for him.

The police have arrested B and plan to conduct further investigations before transferring the case to the prosecution.

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