"Swapped Mr. Son's Corpse with a Mannequin"... YouTubers' Successive Allegations

Amid various suspicions raised regarding the case of the late Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was found dead at Seoul Hangang Park, a video containing an absurd claim that the police swapped Son's body with a mannequin during the recovery process was uploaded on YouTube.
[Photo by YouTube capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Amid various suspicions raised regarding the case of the late Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing and was found dead at Seoul Hangang Park, unfounded speculations and conspiracy theories have been pouring in through social networking services (SNS) and YouTube, leading some to point out that the situation has gone too far.

Recently, a video claiming that the police swapped Son’s body with a mannequin during the recovery process was uploaded on YouTube. The video repeatedly showed news footage from April 30, when Son’s body was discovered, making this absurd claim.

In response, Cha Jong-wook, a civilian rescuer who found the body at the time, told YTN in an interview, "Many people including reporters, police officers, and witnesses were watching at the scene," and dismissed the claim by saying, "The story about swapping with a mannequin is nonsense."

Besides this, numerous suspicions and conspiracy theories related to Son’s case can be easily found on YouTube and social networking services (SNS). Most of these claim or speculate that Mr. A, who is known to have drunk with Son on the day of the incident, is the culprit, and rumors are spreading that the police are covering up the case and tampering with evidence.

A shaman YouTuber also made unverified claims while speculating on the cause of Son’s death, suggesting that there was a dispute between Son and Mr. A, and that Son appeared to have been struck by Mr. A’s cellphone.

Earlier, on the 30th, Son’s body was found underwater near the disappearance site in the Hangang River, and the autopsy suggested drowning as the cause of death. Subsequently, the police secured Mr. A’s cellphone, which was found by a sanitation worker, and requested bloodstain and DNA analysis from the National Forensic Service (NFS), while also conducting digital forensics.

On the 1st, the police announced that they had not found any peculiarities on Mr. A’s cellphone that could be linked to the cause of Son’s death, and on the 5th, they reported receiving results from the NFS indicating no bloodstain reactions were detected on Mr. A’s cellphone. DNA and other tests have not yet been released.

The police are investigating the exact circumstances of how the cellphone was obtained, conducting forensic hypnosis on the sanitation worker who reportedly kept the phone for over two weeks before reporting it, and performing additional CCTV analysis.

Meanwhile, as the police investigation found no significant criminal evidence on Mr. A’s cellphone, it is becoming more likely that this case will be closed as a simple accident. However, suspicions surrounding the circumstances of Son’s death are expected to persist.