The mother of the victim in the Changwon motel murder case broke down in tears while clearing up misunderstandings surrounding the death of her 8th grade son.
In the May 18 episode of KBS JOY’s ‘Ask Anything’, the mother of the victim from the Changwon motel murder case, which occurred on December 3, 2025, appeared as a guest. She shared her heartache, saying, “Losing my son to a murder is painful enough, but it’s even harder because of the misinformation being spread.”
The guest explained that she came to share the story because the truth has yet to be revealed. She recalled the day of the incident, which was her son’s father’s birthday and the day his final exams ended. After a family meal, her son went to hang out with friends. At 6:30 PM, she received a call from the school stating that the police needed the parents’ contact information. Shortly after, she was told her son was injured and to rush to the emergency room.
Upon arriving at the ER, she was informed by a doctor that her son had passed away. Because an autopsy was required, she couldn’t even see him. She shared the trauma of only being able to see his eyes and nose through plastic at the funeral home. She expressed her frustration that news reports were portraying her son as a delinquent involved in violence, extortion, and prostitution.
Regarding the events of that day, she explained that four teenagers—her son, his girlfriend, a friend, and the girlfriend’s friend—were at a karaoke room. The girls mentioned that a high school senior was threatening them and they had to leave. Six minutes later, the girlfriend called saying she was trapped in a motel, and her son went to rescue her. The perpetrator was actually a 26-year-old child sex offender pretending to be a high school student, who had been released from prison in June of the previous year. The perpetrator died after slipping while jumping out of a window to escape.
Lee Soo-geun lamented the perpetrator’s death, saying, “He should have faced punishment, so this feels so empty. The case is just over. Oh, mother,” and asked her to share the details she wanted to correct.
The mother described her son as an active boy who never fought with friends and attended academies late into the night. She shared her daily grief, crying whenever she sees an empty seat at the table, her son’s toothbrush, or other middle school students. She also mentioned a YouTube post claiming the children went for prostitution, which led to malicious comments and judgmental remarks from neighbors.
She emphasized that her son was not the delinquent people imagine. According to consistent statements from survivors, after being stabbed, her son shouted for his friends to run and tried to open the door to let them out. She expressed the pain of thinking about how much he must have wanted to answer her phone calls while he was dying, stating that the killer acted solely on his own emotions.
The mother added that she wants her second child to know that their brother died righteously while trying to save someone. She appeared on the show to tell the world how righteous her son was until his final moment. She ended with a tearful confession to her son, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. Mom loves you the most.”
