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Police arrest man suspected of drugging, drowning family

Published: 03 Jun. 2025, 17:19 Updated: 03 Jun. 2025, 18:10

The Mokpo Coast Guard lifts the vehicle carrying a family of four from the waters off Jindo Port in Jindo County, South Jeolla on June 3. [NEWS1]

Police arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of murdering his wife and two teenage sons by drugging them and then driving a car off a pier into the sea in Jindo, South Jeolla, in what authorities believe was a premeditated act driven by financial desperation.

According to Gwangju Bukbu Police, the suspect, identified only by the surname Ji, confessed to killing his family due to overwhelming debt and economic hardship.

“Life was too difficult because of massive debt and financial struggles, so I committed the crime,” Ji reportedly told police.

The incident occurred early Sunday morning at 1:12 a.m., when Ji’s vehicle plunged into the waters off Jindo Port. Ji's 49-year-old wife and two sons — one a first-year and the other a third-year high school student — were killed. Ji survived by escaping through an open window and fleeing the scene.

Investigators said Ji confessed to having crushed sleeping pills into drinks that he gave his family, claiming they were nutritional supplements.

Ji initially claimed he also took the sleeping pills but later changed his statement, saying only his family did.

Police say the crime was carefully planned. Ji contacted his sons' schools the previous Friday, inquiring about off-campus “experiential learning” and saying the family would be traveling. The schools denied the request due to upcoming exams, and Ji never submitted any official paperwork. That same evening, after his sons returned home, the family left Gwangju and stayed overnight at a lodge in Muan County before arriving at Jindo the next night.

Authorities believe Ji stopped in Mokpo en route to Jindo and administered the sleeping pills before driving off the pier. After the vehicle submerged, he reportedly contacted a co-worker instead of alerting emergency services, and then fled to Gwangju.

Police were alerted after the sons’ schools filed a missing persons report at 2:22 p.m. Monday. With help from the Coast Guard, investigators traced the family’s last known GPS location to Jindo Port. CCTV footage confirmed the vehicle entering the water. At 8:07 p.m. Monday — about 43 hours after the incident — the submerged car and the bodies of Ji’s wife and sons were recovered approximately 30 meters offshore.

Officers from the Mokpo Coast Guard conduct a search operation in waters near Jindo Port in Jindo County, South Jeolla on June 2. [YONHAP]

Police arrested Ji at 9:09 p.m. near Yangdong Market in Gwangju, about an hour after the car was found. They also apprehended his colleague and are investigating whether to charge him with aiding a fugitive.

Ji, a construction worker, had lived with his family for the past three to four years in a one-room apartment in Gwangju.

Authorities said he was not a recipient of basic living subsidies.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHOI KYEONG-HO, HWANG HEE-GYU [[email protected]]