Witness Appears for "Man Entering Han River," Son Jeong-min's Father Says "Not Worth Responding"

Photo by Son Hyun, father of Son Jung-min, blog capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seo-young] Son Hyun (50), the father of Son Jeong-min (22), who was found dead after going missing at Seoul Hangang Park, referred to a witness's claim of seeing a man entering the Hangang River on the day of the disappearance as "not even worth responding to."

On the 18th, Son Hyun posted an article titled "A Breathless Two Days" on his blog. In the post, he began by saying, "I want to explain slowly, but many people are curious due to breaking news, so I am posting this without even eating." Regarding a statement from his friend A, he expressed his thoughts, saying, "They only issued a statement without a single apology to us, which continues to be absurd."

Son also mentioned, "Today, suddenly, new witness stories came out as breaking news, and I received contacts from all directions." He added, "The existence of the witness is absurd, but the testimony that someone was swimming wearing clothes at dawn is not even worth responding to," and "I don't want to believe the witnesses' testimonies, but the unfolding circumstances are making me anxious again."

At the end of his post, Son attached a link to a YouTube video claiming to have verified whether it is actually possible to enter the Hangang River and swim, explaining his opinion by saying, "I am grateful to the YouTubers who speak on my behalf without me needing to state my position."

Son also disclosed the smartphone data usage history of his son, Son Jeong-min, saying, "I requested an investigation because I didn't know whether these things were moving in a background we are unaware of or if someone had to tamper with them." He added, "(I am) making various investigation requests to the police," and "Among previous requests, there is this: the data call history from that morning." According to this, Son Jeong-min's smartphone shows continuous internet access and chatting records from 1:22 a.m. to 5:35 a.m. on the day of his disappearance. This record indicates that the smartphone was still being used even after the estimated time of death at around 4:30 a.m., as presumed by the police.

Earlier, the police announced that they secured testimony from seven people fishing together who witnessed a man walking into the Hangang River at around 4:40 a.m. last month when the deceased went missing. They reportedly testified, "He gradually submerged from the knees and entered as if swimming, and we thought it was not an emergency rescue situation, so we did not report it." The police conducted an on-site investigation after completing the investigation of the seven witnesses to verify the credibility of the tip, as the identity of the person who entered the water has not yet been confirmed.

Netizens responded with comments such as, "Seeing someone swimming in clothes at dawn only raises more suspicions," "We should not make hasty judgments until the final results of such cases come out," "I hope the truth is definitely revealed," and "The parents must be truly heartbroken."