A man in his 40s and his 9-year-old son were found dead at an apartment complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, with police investigating the case as a suspected murder-suicide.
Police said they received a 119 emergency call at approximately 5:55 p.m. on January 11 reporting that a person had fallen at an apartment complex in Giheung-gu, Yongin. Officers responding to the scene found the body of a man in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, who appeared to have fallen from the 20th floor.
Police subsequently located a vehicle in the apartment parking lot using car keys found in the man's pocket. The body of his 9-year-old son, identified as B, was discovered in the back seat. Two black plastic bags were reportedly placed on the boy's abdomen.
A medical examiner's preliminary findings indicate the boy's cause of death was asphyxiation due to pressure on the neck. Based on this evidence, police believe the father strangled his son before jumping from the building.
CCTV footage analysis revealed that on the afternoon of the incident, Mr. A picked up his son, who attended a special education school, drove to an apartment complex where he previously resided, parked in the lot, and immediately went up to an upper floor before jumping. No evidence of third-party involvement was found from the time he picked up his son until the incident.
Mr. A had recently told family members he "lost 200 million won in stock investments" and expressed despair about his situation, according to police.
"It appears the man jumped due to financial difficulties," a police official said. "We are continuing to investigate the exact time, location, and circumstances of the son's death."
