Rumormongers concerning med student's death belatedly seek forgiveness

Lawyers from One and Partners speak to reporters before entering Seocho Police Station in Seoul, June 1. The law firm is representing a friend of Son Jeong-min, a medical college student who was found dead in the Han River on April 30. Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

More than 700 YouTubers and online gossipers who spread rumors suggesting that a 22-year-old medical student, Son Jeong-min ― found dead in the Han River in April ― was murdered by his friend who was last spotted with him, are seeking forgiveness.

One and Partners, the law firm representing the friend, said it has received more than 700 apologies via e-mail, KakaoTalk messages and other means, as of Monday night, after the law firm announced Friday that it would sue all rumormongers who claimed that the friend was involved in the death.

The law firm said it will have “no tolerance for anyone spreading groundless rumors, suspicions and other insults about the friend and his family,” but will accept apologies for those asking for leniency or wanting to avoid being sued.

Son, a 22-year-old medical student in Seoul, was found dead in the Han River, April 30, five days after he disappeared from a riverside park in southern Seoul. He disappeared allegedly following falling asleep after drinking with his friend in the park from 11 p.m., April 24, until after 2 a.m. the next morning.

His death received a huge amount of public attention, as a police investigation has yet to uncover the exact events that led to the death, such as how the medical student ended up in the water. The uncertainty about the cause of his death sparked various rumors, including speculation that the friend is deeply involved in the case.

The friend's personal information and photos were revealed by internet users, while some claimed that his uncle and father are police officers or other higher ranking government officials, and are abusing their power to hide the truth. Such rumors, however, were confirmed as being false by law enforcement authorities.

Some YouTubers have been rushing to upload videos claiming that Son's death was a murder, suggesting unconfirmed accounts, in what appears to be a trick to profit from the misfortune of others. Some even interviewed shamans who offered their own takes, with one claiming that "the murderer may have had an accomplice," while another claimed that "Son and his friend may have gotten in a fight over a girl."

Members of a group named “People Seeking the Truth about the Death of Medical Student Son Jeong-min” hold banners in front of Seocho Police Station in Seoul, Monday. They claim that Son's friend, who was with him before he died, should be investigated as a suspect. Yonhap

As part of the legal action, the law firm filed a complaint against a YouTuber with Seocho Police Station in Seoul on June 1. The law firm said that it decided to accuse the channel first, given the seriousness of the rumors it is spreading. The YouTuber claimed that the lawyer representing the friend, and the producer of an SBS investigative program that focused on the death, were brothers, and thus the program was biased in favor of the friend.

The law firm also sued several YouTubers, Monday, for uploading a series of video clips specifying the friend as a suspect in the death, as well as revealing the friend's identity.