"Friend Couple Hid Contact, Jeongmin Could Have Survived... Absolutely Unforgivable" Lament of Son Jeongmin's Mother

On the 16th, participants wearing umbrellas are urging for a thorough investigation of the incident at the "Peace Rally for the Late Son Jeong-min" held near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jumi Lee] The mother of the late Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was found dead at Seoul Hangang Park, has spoken out about the incident.

In an interview with Monthly Chosun released on the 17th, Son’s mother expressed her confusion over the fact that the mother of Son’s friend, A, did not contact her on the day Son went missing.

Son’s mother stated, "It’s not a relationship where you can’t call each other late at night when something happens to the child. If she had answered the child’s call at 3:30 a.m., she would have called me at least a hundred times. It’s very strange," she claimed.

According to Son’s mother, she and A’s mother frequently interacted and even met the week before Son’s accident.

Son’s mother lamented, "Even when that couple met with us after the disappearance, they hid the fact that A called at 3:37 a.m. If they had just contacted us then, Jeong-min might have survived."

Regarding A’s family contacting them two hours after the incident, Son’s mother explained, "After A returned home at 4:30 a.m., if the situation was strange enough for them to run over, it would have been normal to call me while leaving. What did they do for 20 to 30 minutes among themselves? The fact that they called us afterward is a situation that inevitably raises suspicion."

Items commemorating the late Son Jeong-min are placed near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park.

About the relationship between Son and friend A, she said, "There is a group of seven medical school classmates, and the kids were quite close, even traveling abroad together several times."

When asked if she would forgive A if he sincerely apologized, Son’s mother firmly said, "We had to perform an autopsy on the child who returned as a corpse. I can never forgive him." Son’s father, Son Hyun, who was nearby, added, "Is there any parent who could forgive after seeing the photo of their son collapsed like that?"

Furthermore, Son’s mother mourned, "Jeong-min was everything to us. If Jeong-min had been sick, I would have given my eyes or organs; I would have even traded my whole body. We have lived enough, but the child left without even giving us that chance."

On the same day (the 17th), A’s side explained the facts as they remember them and addressed various allegations in their first official statement. The earlier interview with Son’s mother was conducted on the 13th.

A’s side explained the reason for going to Hangang Park to look for Son without contacting Son’s parents, saying, "We were worried that Son might still be sleeping at Hangang Park, and felt it was awkward to contact Son’s home at dawn, so we went to Hangang Park ourselves to check."

A’s side explained, "At that time, A’s father and the deceased’s parents were not acquainted, and although A’s mother and the deceased’s mother were acquainted, it was a relationship that required some formality, so it was difficult to call comfortably at dawn."