SBS 'Geugeosi Algo Sipda' Baek Ji-won Missing Case
Family Reunion After 1 Year...Unaware of Loan in Her Name
A man in his 20s with an intellectual disability who went missing last October was dramatically found the day before the SBS program "Unanswered Questions" (hereafter "UQ") aired, and returned to his family. This man had been out of contact with his family for over a year and had accumulated debts exceeding 100 million won after his disappearance.
The SBS current affairs program "UQ: Bills and Ghosts - The Baek Ji-won Disappearance Case," which aired on the 2nd, covered the case of twenty-year-old Baek Ji-won, who has a moderate intellectual disability and returned after being missing for 1 year and 2 months.
The disappearance case of Baek Ji-won covered in SBS's "Unanswered Questions" aired on the 2nd [Image source=SBS]
Baek, who graduated from high school last year and was preparing for independence, suddenly disappeared in October last year. After the missing person report was filed, Baek was out of contact for over a year, showing no signs of daily life, leaving his whereabouts uncertain. To make matters worse, bills started arriving at his home early this year. A lease deposit loan of 100 million won was taken out under Baek’s name, with overdue interest alone amounting to 1.6 million won as stated on the demand notices. Along with this, there were unpaid communication fees of about 5 million won and overdue installment bills for three mobile phones, totaling debts of 110 million won. Since Baek, who has an intellectual disability, could not have taken out such loans by himself, there was a possibility that someone had kidnapped Baek and was using him for criminal activities.
A person known as acquaintance A, who was with Baek at the time of his disappearance, was also a suspicious figure. When Baek’s family first reported him missing to the police on October 12 last year after losing contact, it was confirmed that Baek was staying at a motel in Seoul with acquaintance A. However, investigation revealed that A was wanted for involvement in loan fraud and voice phishing crimes. After that, Baek lost contact with both his family and the police, and A also changed his phone number and disappeared.
The "UQ" production team confirmed that there was a group lurking like ghosts around Baek, exploiting him for loan fraud, and they tracked down their identities. Then, on the night of the 1st, a day before the broadcast, the police conducting the investigation contacted them to report that Baek had been found in Osan, Gyeonggi Province.
The Missing Persons Investigation Team of the Yongin Dongbu Police Station obtained intelligence and found Baek in a one-room apartment in Osan, where A was also reportedly present. Preliminary investigation revealed that Baek had been living since October last year in motels in Gwangju and Icheon cities in Gyeonggi Province and a one-room apartment in Chungju, Chungbuk Province, before moving back to the one-room apartment in Osan. It was confirmed that A had accompanied him during this period.
When the "UQ" production team visited the police station, Baek had lost a lot of weight and looked gaunt after being missing for over a year, but fortunately, he did not appear to have any major health issues. Baek revealed that he ate about one meal a day and was monitored by A inside the one-room apartment without a mobile phone. He was completely unaware that a lease deposit loan had been taken out in his name or that several mobile phones had been registered under his name. It is also presumed that A had been monitoring Baek under someone else’s instructions. A has been arrested on charges of participating in the lease deposit loan fraud and is under investigation.
Baek’s family expressed their gratitude to the police and production team for ensuring his safe return. "UQ" stated, "We will closely monitor the investigation results regarding the perpetrators who exploited Baek, an intellectually disabled person, to commit lease deposit loan fraud, and continue to uncover their true identities."
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