Possibility of Local Resident's Accidental Death Raised
Japanese Police Did Not Track Phone Location
Regarding the case of social worker Yoon Se-jun (26), who went missing while traveling alone in Japan, local residents have raised the possibility of an 'accidental fall,' drawing public attention.
The SBS program "Unanswered Questions," which aired on the 26th, highlighted Yoon's disappearance case. Yoon had previously left for a backpacking trip to Japan on May 9. He had planned to stay in Japan for about a month, and near the end of his trip, around 8 p.m. on June 8, he called his sister.
Yoon reportedly said, "I'm entering the accommodation, but it's raining heavily and dark," and "Let's keep talking until I get there."
At around 9:26 p.m., Yoon sent a message saying he had "arrived at the accommodation," but after that, he did not answer any calls or texts. Yoon's sister reported him missing to the police, and the consulate also received the report, prompting the Japanese police to begin an investigation.
At that time, Yoon had traveled to Kushimoto-cho, Wakayama Prefecture, Osaka, Japan. It was said that there were few tourists in the area during that period, making it sparsely populated. Yoon arrived in the area on June 7 and stayed at a guesthouse in Shionomisaki village.
However, according to the production team's investigation, contrary to Yoon's claim of arriving at the accommodation, there was no record of him staying at the last accommodation. The team visited all lodging facilities within a 1 hour and 30-minute radius from the last point where Yoon was spotted, but none confirmed that he had stayed there.
Local residents also said, "There are no facilities to stay where Yoon got off." Some residents suggested the possibility of an 'accidental fall.' It was claimed that similar accidents frequently occurred in Kushimoto-cho. One resident said, "One or two people go missing every year," adding, "It's fortunate if they are found, but many are not."
During their inquiries, the production team also discovered that the Japanese police had not tracked Yoon's cellphone location for over two months. Regarding this, Pyo Chang-won, director of the Crime Science Research Institute, said, "The most crucial aspect of a missing person case is location confirmation," and added, "The most accurate method is the cellphone, and if the location had been quickly confirmed to verify survival, the investigation could have started from there. That is regrettable and frustrating."
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