"Insurance Companies Delaying Payouts" Reexamining a Post Mirroring the Late Yoon Sang-yeop Case Featured on 'Geu-al'

'Unanswered Truths' Investigates the Drowning Incident of the Late Yoon Sang-yeop in Gapyeong Valley

Photo by SBS, screenshot from the broadcast of 'Unanswered Questions'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid growing suspicions surrounding the drowning accident of the late Yoon Sang-yeop following the SBS program "Unanswered Questions," a post believed to have been written by Yoon's wife regarding her late husband's death insurance payout has resurfaced. In the post, the author claimed that since last year, she had been requesting the death insurance payout from the insurance company, but the insurer refused to pay, citing her youth and lack of legal knowledge as reasons.

In March, an online community post titled "Please help. The insurance company is maliciously delaying the death insurance payout" was uploaded. The post has since been deleted.

At the time, the author wrote, "On June 30, 2019, seven of us went to a valley to play, and while the men were diving, my spouse, who jumped in last, did not come out of the water and died. There were four witnesses at the time of the accident," and added, "After the accident, my spouse's family raised suspicions of homicide, so the police investigation took a long time."

She continued, "By mid-October 2019, the police investigation concluded the case as an accidental death by drowning, and the death certificate states it was an unintentional accident, drowning, and external cause. The autopsy results also confirmed drowning."

She then claimed that on November 11 of last year, she filed a claim for the general death insurance payout with the insurance company, but the insurer did not pay the benefit.

She said, "Around mid-November, I met with the on-site examiner, gave consent for the provision of personal information, and cooperated fully with everything the insurance company requested," adding, "Even after cooperating, the payment was still not made, so when I contacted the person in charge, they said they were investigating the possibility of suicide exemption this time and asked for contact information of the deceased's (spouse's) coworkers and family members."

Photo by SBS, screenshot from the broadcast of 'Unanswered Questions'.

She added, "At the time of the accident, the deceased's family had been claiming homicide, so our relationship was not good," and said, "The insurance company said that if I did not provide the contact information, they would visit my husband's workplace to talk with his coworkers. They also said they would contact the deceased's family if they received their contact information."

Regarding the insurance company, she criticized, "Since I am ignorant of the law, they are ignoring the consumer and mocking me by disregarding the insurance policy and the law," and called them "a ridiculous company that drags things out just because I am young and inexperienced, even though everything was already concluded as an accidental death, they are trying to frame it as suicide."

She continued, "The person in charge refuses to contact me unless I reach out first, does not follow proper procedures, and simply ignores me while refusing to pay the insurance money," and said, "I am posting this so that others can know the dirty reality of large insurance companies that mock consumers and to prevent others from suffering damage."

Earlier, the SBS program "Unanswered Questions - The Last Dive That Day, the Mystery of Gapyeong Valley," which aired on the 17th, covered the drowning accident of Yoon at Yongso Waterfall in Gapyeong last June.

According to the broadcast, Yoon drowned while visiting Yongso Waterfall in Gapyeong with acquaintances last June. Yoon's wife, Lee, informed the production team about the accident and said she was in a dispute with the insurance company over her husband's death insurance payout.

However, Yoon's family expressed suspicion toward Lee due to events that occurred after Yoon's death. It was reported that Lee engaged in difficult-to-understand behavior, such as enjoying water leisure activities and traveling abroad with her daughter and friends less than 100 days after Yoon's death.

The broadcast also revealed that Jo, who was part of the group at the time, was Lee's lover. Lee admitted to having an affair with Jo, saying, "Neither my husband nor his family knew about it," but expressed her innocence regarding any intent related to Yoon's accident.