A man in his 40s appeared in court on Wednesday for a hearing over an arrest warrant after being accused of killing his wife and two sons by driving their car into the sea. The suspect, identified by the surname Ji, attended the hearing at 11 a.m. at Gwangju District Court, located about 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
Ji, 49, was taken into custody on Monday after allegedly steering a car carrying his family off a pier at Jindo Port in South Jeolla Province around 1:12 a.m. on Sunday. He reportedly escaped the sinking vehicle alone, while his wife and two teenage sons, both high school students, died in the incident.
The vehicle was found around 8:07 p.m. Sunday, roughly 30 meters from Jindo Port. Inside were three bodies believed to be Ji’s wife and their two teenage sons. The Coast Guard later recovered the bodies and transferred them to a hospital. Autopsies have been requested to confirm the cause of death.
Police believe Ji gave his family drinks mixed with sleeping pills before driving the car into the sea. He allegedly escaped alone, swam to shore, and spent the night on a nearby hill about one to two kilometers from the port. The next day, he contacted his brother using a pay phone.
Instead of meeting his brother, Ji arranged a ride with a colleague from his construction site and fled to Gwangju around 6 p.m. on Monday. He was arrested near Yangdong Market in the city’s Seo District at 9:09 p.m. Tuesday—about 44 hours after the incident.
Investigators are considering charges including murder and aiding or encouraging suicide. Ji told police he had been struggling financially due to a debt of 160 million won and was overwhelmed caring for his wife, who reportedly had bipolar disorder. He claimed he initially intended to die with his family but panicked once the car entered the water and swam out alone.
When questioned by reporters on his way to the hearing, Ji remained silent. Wearing a white mask and a hat pulled low, he avoided eye contact as officers escorted him from the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station to court. The court is expected to decide on the arrest warrant later in the day.
Authorities launched a search after one of Ji’s sons failed to attend school on Sunday. Using GPS data from the family’s phones, police traced their location to the waters near Jindo Port. Surveillance footage from a nearby camera showed a car, believed to be the family’s, plunging into the sea around 1 a.m. that day.
Investigators are continuing to look into the full details of the case and are weighing charges of murder or assisting suicide. Police have also requested autopsies from the National Forensic Service and are considering legal action against a construction site colleague who helped Ji flee to Gwangju by providing a vehicle.
