A man in his 40s, accused of driving a car into the sea and killing his family, reportedly said in a police statement that he was "struggling."
According to the North Gwangju Police Station on the 3rd, Ji Mo (49), who is accused of causing a maritime accident that killed his wife and two sons, reportedly stated during police questioning that he "went into the sea with them in the car and then got out" and "did it because I was struggling."
Ji, a construction worker, was living with his family in a one-room apartment in North Gwangju and was reportedly not a recipient of basic living benefits.
Earlier, Ji is suspected of driving into the sea with his car around 1:12 a.m. on the 1st in Jindo County, Jeonnam, killing three people, including his wife, who is the same age, and their two sons who are high school students. Police believe Ji drove into the sea with his family, as evidence shows that the driver's seat and passenger's seat windows of the vehicle Ji was operating were open.
The vehicle driven by Ji was found about 30 meters from Jindo Port at around 8:07 p.m. the day before, along with three corpses. Ji reportedly escaped to Gwangju by receiving a ride from an acquaintance without taking any particular rescue measures after climbing ashore. Subsequently, about 44 hours after the incident, he was arrested by police around 9:09 p.m. the day before near Yangdong Market in Seo-gu, Gwangju.
This incident began when the police investigation was launched following a report from a teacher who was concerned about the safety of Ji's children after they did not attend school and could not be contacted. Police plan to investigate Ji's acquaintance, referred to as A, who gave Ji a ride to Gwangju, while also verifying the exact circumstances of the deaths of the family members to consider applying homicide charges against Ji.