Son's cause of death has been confirmed as drowning, but how he ended up in the river remains an unsolved mystery
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MusicTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:15 Okay Alia, today I want to tell you a story about this one case that happened in South Korea
00:20 The drowning of a medical student
00:23 We've all been student once
00:25 You've been a student, I've been a student too, right?
00:27 Tell me how stress was it for you as a student back then
00:32 Stress?
00:33 Yeah, were you stressed? Were you stressed not to study? Did you study?
00:35 Hey, we studied
00:39 Stress?
00:41 Sometimes, but most of the time
00:44 Usually during study time
00:51 We mostly hang out with friends
00:54 Like until late at night
00:56 You didn't?
01:01 I'm a very good student, I stayed in the dorm, studied, did assignments
01:11 Anyways, yeah
01:12 So some people in this case, some people in South Korea
01:16 You know the education system in South Korea is very difficult
01:19 And because he is a medical student
01:23 Some people assumed that he kind of walked into the river
01:29 And you know, try to get rid of his stress
01:33 If you get what I mean
01:36 Healing
01:39 So in South Korea, the Han River in Seoul
01:43 Is a place for people to hang out with friends, go on a date
01:49 There's a convenience store there too, apparently 24 hours
01:53 Where they can buy food, snacks, and even buy tikka
01:58 For you to hang out with your friends and eat
02:03 So it's a very happening place, a lot of things happened there
02:10 In April 2021
02:14 In case you guys think I'm looking down
02:18 There's actually a very, like a timeline
02:22 That I have to refer because it's like every hour
02:26 I need to read
02:29 So on April 2021
02:33 A body of a boy was found at the Han River
02:40 So when the police investigated
02:42 They found that it was a missing boy, a medical student
02:47 A missing medical student that went missing 6 days prior
02:51 So they found the body 6 days after he went missing
02:55 So we go back to the day he was hanging out with his friend
03:00 It was on the 25th of April
03:03 This boy, we call him SJM
03:08 Because his name is Song Joon Ming
03:11 But it's a bit mouthful for us to say
03:15 So for me, it's Song Joon Ming
03:18 So he is 21 years old
03:21 He is a medical student
03:24 And he apparently, according to his friend
03:27 Went missing around 3.30am to 4.30am at the Banpo River Park
03:34 Okay
03:35 Yeah
03:36 3.30am
03:39 3.30am, what do you usually do at 3.30am?
03:41 If you're at the university
03:44 Sleep
03:46 But we know the Korean style
03:51 They like to hang out and drink alcohol
03:54 Until late at night
03:56 The first reason they usually drink alcohol is because Korea is very cold
04:00 There's a time where it's very cold
04:02 So you know people drink alcohol to heat up their bodies
04:06 And also, leisurely
04:08 When you hang out and eat with your friends
04:11 You just drink
04:13 That's a culture
04:15 Anyway, so
04:17 The story started the night before
04:20 A few hours before, at 11.30am on the 24th of April
04:24 Some CCTV cameras captured the two boys
04:28 Going to a convenience store to buy snacks, tikka and some drinks
04:34 So they were seen buying drinks
04:37 And then at 1am, they came back
04:40 So that's two hours
04:41 So I think they had finished eating and chatting
04:43 And then they felt like they wanted more
04:45 Yeah, maybe we should hang out more
04:47 There's more that we want to talk about
04:49 It's been a while since we last met
04:51 So they went back to the convenience store at 1am
04:55 And they bought more snacks and more drinks
04:58 Okay
04:59 And their credit card history
05:03 Also showed that yes, they did buy some snacks and some drinks
05:07 So okay, normal, normal right?
05:10 So after that, around 1.30am
05:14 They drank, ate and hung out
05:19 And then apparently, SJM
05:22 Sent a text message to his mother
05:27 To tell probably his mother
05:30 Okay, I'm still here with my friend
05:32 So I'll be back a little bit later
05:35 Okay
05:36 And then there's also
05:37 His Instagram, he posted a video of him
05:41 Hanging out with his friend
05:43 Dancing nearby the river
05:45 So at around 1.30am, he's still okay
05:48 At 2am
05:51 His friend, we called his friend Mr. A
05:56 Said that SJM was asleep
06:00 So it was between 2am to 3am
06:02 So it was an hour
06:03 So he was asleep
06:05 And then suddenly, SJM woke up
06:08 And then he was running around the area
06:13 Where they were hanging out
06:15 And it looked like he was a little bit drunk
06:21 Okay
06:22 But the story was actually weird
06:25 Because he was asleep
06:26 And then he woke up and ran
06:29 He was drunk when he woke up from his sleep
06:32 So that's a bit like that
06:34 So he didn't know what to do
06:36 He called his father, Mr. A called his father
06:38 Meaning, they were sleeping
06:41 And then SJM woke up and ran
06:45 And then Mr. A woke up
06:47 He was like, "What happened?"
06:49 "Why did he run? What did you do?"
06:51 And then he called his father
06:52 Mr. A called his father
06:54 "Please help, SJM was sleeping just now"
06:57 "And now he's drunk"
06:59 And then his father said
07:01 "It's late, you should come home"
07:05 But instead of going straight home
07:08 He said that he decided to continue sleeping
07:12 Mr. A said that?
07:14 Yes, Mr. A said that
07:15 So by this time, by 2am
07:18 All of this was Mr. A's story
07:22 So it's either you believe it or you don't
07:25 There's no CCTV proof
07:27 There's no witness who saw or heard what happened
07:30 So everything that came out after this
07:33 Was all from his story
07:36 Okay
07:37 So then, at that time
07:40 Before they went to sleep, SJM was running
07:44 So Mr. A said that he tried to drag him
07:47 Far away from the river
07:49 And that is when Mr. A's shoes, pants, and clothes
07:53 Became dirty
07:55 Because they were outside
07:57 And then after that, they fell asleep
07:59 And then at 3.30am
08:01 Mr. A called his mother
08:04 And said
08:08 "Maybe it's time for him to go home"
08:13 "Maybe it's time for him to go home"
08:16 And then he informed his parents
08:19 "Oh, but SJM is no longer around"
08:21 "Okay"
08:22 "SJM is no longer around"
08:24 "He's no longer next to him"
08:26 "He woke up and SJM is no longer next to him"
08:28 And then he informed his parents
08:30 "Okay, I need to go home"
08:32 And according to him
08:34 He felt like
08:36 "Oh, SJM woke up and left him"
08:41 So if you personally
08:44 If you hang out with me
08:46 And we sleep anywhere
08:49 And then you woke up
08:50 Would you ever leave me alone?
08:52 No
08:54 If you hang out with anyone
08:57 I feel like it's not with you or me
08:59 If we hang out with anybody
09:01 Even if you're with a stranger
09:06 If you're with him
09:09 And suddenly you have to leave that person alone
09:12 Would you offer to go home?
09:15 "I want to go home"
09:17 "Let's go home"
09:18 Or like
09:19 "What are you going to ride?"
09:20 "Should I send you back?"
09:21 "To the nearest train station?"
09:24 "Or should I wait for you to call a Grab?"
09:27 "Branding!"
09:30 Grab is sponsored
09:32 Anyways
09:37 So, okay
09:40 He called his parents
09:42 Informed his parents that he was going home
09:45 SJM was no longer there
09:47 He assumed that SJM had left him
09:51 So he arrived at home
09:53 CCTV captured the incident
09:57 He left the park all by himself
10:00 And then
10:02 By the time he arrived
10:04 It was already 5.20am
10:06 He arrived at 4am
10:10 And then at 5.20am suddenly
10:13 Mr. A's parents were like
10:15 "Why not we go back to the park"
10:18 "And look for SJM just in case"
10:22 So it took them an hour plus
10:24 To suddenly decide
10:26 "This is not right"
10:27 "We should go back to the park"
10:29 "And find the boy"
10:31 By that time, Mr. A had already changed his clothes
10:34 Because it was an hour plus already
10:36 At that time, at 5.30am
10:38 Mr. A's mother called SJM's parents
10:44 To inform that they were hanging out
10:47 And now SJM is missing
10:50 SJM's father was like
10:52 "Eh, why is my son missing?"
10:55 So at 5.40am
10:58 He went to the park to look for his son
11:01 So while he was looking for his son
11:06 He also called his son's phone three times
11:10 And it was ringing all the way
11:12 So he thought that maybe the phone was missing
11:16 Or maybe he didn't hear it
11:18 And then suddenly he found out
11:20 That actually Mr. A had SJM's phone
11:23 So you imagine that the phone has been ringing
11:26 Three times
11:28 Ringing all the way
11:29 But Mr. A did not pick it up
11:32 So that is when SJM's father felt
11:37 "Oh that's a little bit weird"
11:39 He felt like "What's going on?"
11:42 So, yeah
11:45 And after that
11:48 That's all that happened
11:51 No clues, nobody knew where SJM was
11:55 So in our timeline
11:57 The last time CCTV captured SJM alive
12:02 Was at 1pm at the convenience store
12:05 And then when he texted his mother
12:08 And he posted an Instagram story
12:10 That is the only time that
12:12 Anybody has ever seen him alive
12:14 And then after that
12:15 2 o'clock until almost 6am
12:18 It's all stories from Mr. A
12:21 Yeah
12:23 So there's no other clue
12:25 And then the police asked
12:27 When Mr. A was being interrogated
12:30 They asked "Where's your phone?"
12:32 And then they said
12:33 He lost his phone
12:35 While he was hanging out with SJM
12:37 But for some reason
12:39 He had SJM's phone
12:42 And then he said
12:43 He had a story where he said
12:45 When he was trying to hold back SJM
12:50 While he was running around the area
12:52 He said his clothes and shoes were all dirty
12:54 So then police asked for the shoes
12:57 "Okay then, where's your shoe?"
12:59 Because we want to see
13:01 If the dirt or anything that's underneath your shoe
13:04 Is wet or dry
13:08 So they'll know if you're near the river
13:10 Or further from the river
13:12 And then suddenly the mother said
13:14 "Oh, we threw away the shoe"
13:17 So if your shoes are dirty
13:20 So meaning the police will ask for it tomorrow?
13:23 It's like after they reported it
13:26 But I'm not really sure when
13:29 But I think as soon as possible
13:32 Because after the father found it
13:35 His father must have reported it first
13:39 So about the shoes
13:40 The shoes are a bit dirty
13:42 If your shoes are dirty
13:44 Do you wash them?
13:46 Don't you think you wash your shoes?
13:49 How about you?
13:50 Definitely, we wash our shoes
13:52 He's a guy, he wears shoes
13:56 What would you do if your shoes are dirty?
13:58 I mean for girls, I feel like we'll wash our shoes
14:02 I will wash my shoes first
14:05 Especially if it's expensive
14:07 Especially if it's expensive
14:09 You would wash your shoes
14:11 So that does not make sense already
14:13 Because he threw away his shoes
14:15 And then what about his phone?
14:17 His phone is near him
14:18 But his phone is not with him
14:21 So what do you think actually happened, Alia?
14:24 Another thing, about his shoes
14:27 If he came home and he felt like
14:32 Like he was scared
14:34 His friend went missing
14:36 I don't think he had time to think about his shoes
14:39 Like, "Oh, my shoes are dirty, I have to throw them away"
14:43 That's very smart
14:45 That's a very smart observation
14:48 I also think
14:50 But for me, because they are students
14:53 For me, I feel like
14:55 Maybe, it was an accident
14:58 SJM was drunk
15:01 And it's already 3 or 4 am
15:05 He just woke up, very drunk
15:08 So accidentally, he fell into the river
15:12 And Mr. A was also sleeping
15:16 And he was also drunk
15:18 So I feel like he didn't realize or didn't hear
15:20 Okay, makes sense
15:22 So it makes sense too
15:25 And also
15:27 Police also did not have any more leads after that
15:31 The missing phone is still missing
15:34 The shoes are also at the river
15:39 So if they are near the river
15:43 Mr. A did tell that he tried to pull Mr. A away from the river
15:49 So if his shoes were found on the wet ground
15:53 It makes sense because the story is linked with the shoes
15:58 So after that, no more new leads
16:03 And then, the fisherman found his body
16:06 6 days after
16:09 And then, autopsy confirmed
16:12 The cause of death is drowning
16:14 So meaning that when SJM went into the river
16:19 He was still breathing
16:21 Because he was drowning
16:24 So as of now, the investigation is still ongoing
16:29 And it's been, I don't know, 3 years
16:31 Nobody knows what happened
16:33 Mr. A is just living his life
16:39 He's still studying
16:41 Probably still helping with investigation
16:44 So far, no new evidence, no new leads
16:47 There are some passes by
16:49 Like a photo of Mr. A
16:55 Crouched down next to the SJM who was sleeping
17:00 He was on the phone
17:01 But the police said
17:03 Mr. A mentioned that when SJM was sleeping
17:09 He called his dad
17:10 He said it's night time
17:13 He's drunk and sleeping
17:15 So what do we do?
17:16 So it's linked
17:18 So what's the story with the evidence they have so far linked
17:24 And it's not possible to make him the culprit
17:30 True
17:31 So at the end, what do you think?
17:35 I feel like SJM actually
17:39 Drunk and accidentally walked into the river
17:44 Makes sense
17:46 But his friend was sus
17:48 His friend was sus for you?
17:49 Yeah
17:50 Is it because of the shoes and the phone?
17:52 Yeah
17:53 The shoes and the phone is kinda sus
17:55 Like where's your phone?
17:56 And why did you have his phone?
17:58 Your friend's
17:59 That's one thing
18:00 Why did you have your friend's phone and not your own phone?
18:04 And why did you throw your shoes at 5am?
18:07 True
18:08 His parents were sus too
18:11 Mr. A's parents
18:12 I mean
18:13 So like
18:14 If you're the parent
18:16 Your child came back at 5am
18:19 At 4am
18:20 At 4am
18:21 At 4am
18:22 And then
18:23 He said
18:24 And then your child said
18:25 Oh I'm back
18:26 Maybe SJM is back too
18:28 And then suddenly
18:30 At 5.30am
18:32 You feel weird
18:34 You feel like SJM is back
18:35 Yeah
18:36 Sus too
18:37 Right?
18:38 He was like an hour later
18:40 Unless
18:41 If your child came back
18:42 And then told you
18:43 Oh I pushed him
18:44 So apparently we'll never know what happened until
18:49 There's new evidence
18:50 Or police
18:51 Decide
18:52 You know
18:53 There's someone who killed him
18:59 But as of now
19:00 I feel like he drowned
19:02 And that's all that we can conclude
19:05 Because we cannot speculate
19:07 We're also not investigators
19:10 We're just people who got the news from Google
19:15 And we read news articles
19:17 So that's all that we got
19:18 That's all that we got
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