SBS's "Kkokkomu" opened the special three-part series "My Child Has Disappeared" with the shocking story of "Pregnant Kidnapper Jeon Hyun-joo." Additionally, it conveyed Jeon Hyun-joo's circumstances that had not been made public until now, increasing anger.
In the 176th episode of "The Day That Tails Follow Tails" (directed by Lee Geun-byeol, Lee Dong-won, Ko Hye-rin, hereafter referred to as "Kkokkomu") aired on the 15th, comedian Jeong Seong-ho, actress Hong Hwa-yeon, and Oh My Girl's Mimi appeared as listeners focusing on the theme of "Pregnant Kidnapper Jeon Hyun-joo."
The story was about an incident that occurred 28 years ago. When 8-year-old Park Cho-rong didn't return home after attending an academy, her mother began searching for her daughter's whereabouts. According to a friend, a girl who was seen for the first time took her away. Detectives from the Seocho Police Station, upon receiving the report, immediately applied a call tracing device to Nari's home.
Three hours after Nari was kidnapped, a woman called, claiming to have kidnapped Nari and demanding 20 million won. It was a brief call, and tracing the origin was impossible. Moreover, due to concerns for the child's safety, a secret investigation had to be conducted. However, the kidnapper did not make another call for a whole day. Listener Hong Hwa-yeon expressed her sorrow, saying, "I keep getting a shock while listening to the story. How anxious must the mother have been?"
After a significant time had passed since Nari's kidnapping, another call came, instructing Nari's family to go to Myeongdong Station. However, the location of the last call traced back to a coffee shop in Myeongdong. Detectives dispatched to the coffee shop investigated the personal information of customers and verified voices, but the suspect did not appear, and the case fell back into a mystery.
Four days after Nari was kidnapped, the case was switched to a public investigation. Once Nari's incident became known, public outrage exploded, and even the president issued directives for investigation. On the 10th day since Nari was kidnapped, which was also her birthday, her parents held a birthday party for Nari while weeping. Hong Hwa-yeon, Jeong Seong-ho, and Mimi, while reading a letter from her mother, ended up shedding tears.
On that day, a tip-off call came into the Seocho Police Station stating, "I think my daughter is the criminal." The woman who became a suspect was pregnant and had met the victim at the coffee shop, shocking the detectives. While the detectives were checking her ID, the pregnant woman left the scene citing her condition. It was a situation where even the detectives could not conceive that a pregnant woman could commit a crime. Her name was Jeon Hyun-joo, and she was 8 months pregnant at the time. The listeners were all astounded, and Mimi could not help but exclaim, "I got chills."
Detectives arrested Jeon Hyun-joo in Sillim-dong, Seoul. It was the 14th day since Nari was kidnapped. Jeon Hyun-joo, who had not spoken about Nari's fate, revealed under the detectives' persuasion that Nari's body was in her husband's storage space, shocking everyone. Mimi expressed her anger by saying, "She must be out of her mind," while Jeong Seong-ho lamented, "I just hoped she would be alive."
Jeon Hyun-joo falsely claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by men who barged into her house the day before kidnapping Nari and that she had been threatened to kidnap a child. However, all the evidence pointed to her acting alone. Ultimately, Jeon Hyun-joo confessed to the crime, and it was revealed that Nari had died on the day of the kidnapping. Professor Kim Tae-kyung from Seowon University Counseling Psychology Department analyzed that Nari had lowered her guard with Jeon Hyun-joo because "it's natural for children to feel a sense of familiarity with a pregnant woman." Jeon Hyun-joo created shock by responding to the prosecutor's inquiry about the reason for the kidnapping, saying, "What other way could I find money with this body? I had no choice but to kidnap."
A month after being incarcerated in the correctional facility, Jeon Hyun-joo gave birth to a child and stirred up controversy again by backtracking on her confession. She claimed there was an accomplice and declared her innocence. Later, Jeon Hyun-joo confessed, "When I was outside prison, I thought it would be better to receive the death penalty, but prison also seems to be livable," and expressed, "I want to live and raise my child," seeking a life sentence. While denying her crimes in court, she even shed tears, but the judges deemed her claim of accomplices to be unconvincing, and citing the impulsive nature of the murder and her lack of a criminal history, they sentenced her to life imprisonment.
Now, 27 years later, Jeon Hyun-joo has turned 60, and her current situation was first revealed through "Kkokkomu." Kim Eung-bun, a former guard at Cheongju Women's Correctional Facility, stated, "After receiving training for new recruits, she has been working at the factory, showing good work performance and taking on the role of a volunteer. Her quiet personality made it so that her very existence was unnoticed," adding, "For life inmates, they can have a vacation once or twice during their sentence, but she has never gone." Listener Hong Hwa-yeon remarked on Jeon Hyun-joo's plans that seem to yearn for parole, stating, "Nari's parents must be living with a deep sense of despair." Nari's father allowed the broadcast, telling the production team, "I hope no more children suffer like Nari."
Jeong Seong-ho expressed, "I have five children myself, but I can't even imagine such a thing," not hiding his anger. Mimi firmly stated, "People talk about how unfair the world is, but one particularly feels it during events like this. I hope such incidents don't happen in the future. There needs to be stricter punishment."
Finally, MCs Jang Doyoun, Jang Seong-kyu, and Jang Hyeon-seong noted, "Today's story doesn't end here," raising curiosity about part 2 of the special series "My Child Has Disappeared," stating, "There are more children who have been kidnapped like Nari."
Meanwhile, reactions on various social media and community sites included comments like, "How can a woman who will soon be a mother do this... The reason for the kidnapping is too shocking," "I got chills several times while watching Kkokkomu today," "The kidnapping and murder case of Park Cho-rong is a famous case, but seeing it again makes my blood boil," and "The anger from the start of the Kkokkomu kidnapping trilogy. Next week's preview looks even scarier."
"Kkokkomu" is a program where three "storytellers" share reflections from their own studies with their respective "story friends" in the most everyday spaces, airing every Thursday night at 10:20 p.m. on SBS.
[Photo] provided
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