Widow accused of withholding daughter's death for money

Kim Kwang-bok, the older brother of the late folk singer Kim Kwang-seok, appears at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Wednesday, to give statements for a recently reopened investigation into the death of Kim Seo-yeon, the daughter of Kim Kwang-seok and his ex-wife Seoh Hai-soon. Yonhap

Brother of legendary singer gives statements to police

By Lee Kyung-min

Kim Kwang-bok, the older brother of the late folk singer Kim Kwang-seok, said Wednesday that the truth will be uncovered surrounding his brother’s sudden, shocking death. Kim died in what policed concluded was a suicide at age 32 in 1996.

“Much of what my former sister-in-law, Seoh Hai-soon, is saying is not true. Most of the circumstances surrounding the death of my brother remain unclear. I urge this case to be reinvestigated thoroughly.” he said.

Kim appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to give a statement in the recently reopened investigation into the death of Kim Seo-yeon, the daughter of Kim Kwang-seok and his ex-wife Seoh.

The investigation followed a complaint filed last week by former MBC journalist Lee Sang-ho whose documentary, “Suicide Made,” raised the possibility Seoh killed Kim. It was released late August.

Lee filed the complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Sept. 21, a day after police told him Kim Seo-yeon had died of acute pneumonia Dec. 23, 2007, a complete contradiction to Seoh’s claims the girl was healthy and living well in the United States.

This came as a response to a missing persons report filed by Lee on behalf of Kim’s family including Kwang-bok, Sept. 19.

They sought to locate the daughter _ who according to Seoh had a developmental disability _ following suspicions she had been confined in a mental institution given her mother’s reluctance to let anyone see her.

The two asked authorities to investigate whether Seoh deliberately withheld information about the death of the girl to win a 12-year-long copyright dispute over the records and music made by Kim Kwang-seok.

Seoh first filed the suit in 1996 against her father-in-law, under whose name Kim Kwang-seok signed a contract for four records in 1993.

The court ruled Kim’s father reserved the full and sole rights to the singer’s copyright materials, adding it would be given to Seo-yeon after his death.

In 2004, after the father died, his widow and their son Kim Kwang-bok filed a suit against Kim Seo-yeon. The Supreme Court found in favor of the girl in 2008.

But Lee and Kim Kwang-bok claim Seoh withheld the most critical information that would have changed the outcome of the suit.

The top court ruled in favor of Kim Seo-yeon, and by extension her mother and legal guardian Seoh, saying the girl deserved the money to support herself. Had the court known she was already dead, it would have made a different ruling, Lee said.

After this allegation grew exponentially, Seoh gave a 30-minute interview with JTBC, a local cable news channel, Monday.

Seoh answered most of the questions by repeating, “I was confused and distracted. I was not myself. I don’t remember.” This did little to help her case, as it seemed as if she was making excuses rather than explaining the situation clearly.

Her claim that she was confused is largely refuted, according to a report by Dispatch, which ran a story that Seoh and a man, surnamed Lee, with whom she was having an affair, set up a company Hae Sung Corp. to run a Speed Mart store in Hawaii on Feb. 24, 2008, only two months after Kim Seo-yeon’s death. Seoh also had an apartment there under her name.

Many Koreans living there, the report was quoted as saying, said setting up a company and buying a home takes more than just two or three months, indicating she prepared for that in advance.

In the interview, her mannerisms were viewed as excessive and distracting, and many said she looked as if she was trying to hide her fear.

Her casual and rather disrespectful attitude toward both her ex-husband and her daughter also drew criticism.

When asked why she failed to immediately report the death of her daughter, she said “It was the death of a disabled child. It was hard for me,” implying that she was particularly stressed due to the child’s condition.

This drew huge criticism from parents with special needs children. “How could a mother make that callous a comment about her own child? It is a disgrace,” one internet user said.

Seoh claimed she did not think it was customary to report the death to the court mid-trial as she knew nothing about the law. She also said she had no motive to withhold the death as she knew she would claim Kim’s copyright after Kim Seo-yeon’s death. However, by making these remarks, she contradicted herself as she ended up admitting to being fully aware how the case would play out with or without her daughter.

In the documentary, Lee accused Seoh of killing her husband citing discrepancies between the police report and her statement.

Seoh said Kim’s body was found on a staircase in his two-story home, with electric wires wrapped around his neck three times, adding she unwound the wires from his neck and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Her brother, an ex-convict, was also on the scene when police arrived.

However, when Lee tried to read the coroner’s report on Kim, he was unable to do so as Seoh had sealed the records. Officials present at the scene told Lee there were no signs of strangulation on the back of Kim’s neck, contradicting her statement. Seoh said, Tuesday, she would disclose the report.

The police are expected to request the Korea Music Copyright Association to provide information on the total copyright payments to Seoh since 1996.

All the copyrights to the songs are in Seoh’s name. It is estimated she received 2.4 billion won ($2.1 million) over the past 20 years.