Busan Fall Accident Resembling the 'Lee Eunhae Case'... 'Older Brother's Cohabitant' Arrested for Murder Conspiracy

Two Past Similar Vehicle Crash Cases Involving Mr. A's Father
Ulsan Coast Guard Searching for Older Brother's Whereabouts

At the scene of a vehicle fall accident that occurred on the 3rd of last month at Dongbaek Port, Gijang-gun, Busan, coast guard and fire rescue workers are rescuing the driver. / Photo by Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The cohabiting partner of an older brother was arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder in connection with an accident last month in which a vehicle fell into the sea in Busan, resulting in the death of the younger sister while only the older brother survived.

Ulsan Maritime Police announced on the 2nd that the court had issued an arrest warrant for B (43), the cohabiting partner of the older brother A, following a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).

However, A did not appear in court the previous day. The court plans to reschedule the pre-arrest suspect interrogation once A’s custody is secured.

Earlier, around 2:15 p.m. on the 3rd of last month, A drove a vehicle near Dongbaek Port in Ilgwang-myeon, Gijang-gun, Busan, with C, who was suffering from a brain tumor and unable to drive, seated in the driver’s seat while A sat in the passenger seat and operated the vehicle. The car plunged into the sea, resulting in the death of younger sister C, while A, who was in the passenger seat, escaped on his own.

A claimed it was a simple accident caused by C’s poor driving skills, but the coast guard confirmed on the 18th of last month through an on-site vehicle experiment that it was possible to operate the vehicle by leaning from the passenger seat toward the driver’s seat.

Additionally, it was revealed that A had planned the crime by visiting Dongbaek Port the day before the incident and practicing how to move the vehicle from the passenger seat. It was also found that A left belongings such as a mobile phone outside the vehicle before boarding on the day of the incident.

The coast guard investigated suspicious circumstances, including the fact that the legal heir of the 500 million won automobile injury insurance under C’s name was changed to A in February this year, and has been investigating A on charges of insurance fraud and aiding suicide.

Defendants Lee Eun-hae and Jo Hyun-soo in the 'Valley Murder' case. / Photo by Yonhap News

The Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency is investigating whether two similar vehicle plunge accidents involving A’s family in Busan, which resulted in the death of the father, are related to criminal activity.

In July last year, psychotropic drugs were detected in the body of A’s father (then 76 years old), who died in a vehicle plunge accident in the Nakdong River. The Busan police, who treated this as a simple traffic accident, stated, “Although drugs were detected, no connection to the death was confirmed, so it was handled as a simple accident.”

A, who had filed a missing person report, received approximately 170 million won in death insurance money as the representative of the children. The deceased father, like the younger sister, had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, the case resembles the “Valley Murder Case” that occurred in June 2019. The suspects, Eunhae Lee (31) and her accomplice and lover Hyunsoo Jo (30), were indicted for forcing Eunhae’s husband, Yoon (39 at the time of death), who could not swim, to dive into the water at Yongsogye Valley in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, on June 30, 2019, causing him to drown.

They were also charged with attempting to kill Yoon by feeding him spicy fish stew mixed with poison from pufferfish ovaries and blood at a pension in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province, in February 2019, and three months later, in May of the same year, by drowning him at a fishing spot in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The prosecution believes they committed the crimes aiming for 800 million won in insurance money.