It was belatedly learned that the cause of death of film director Kim Chang-min, who saved four people through organ donation in Nov. last year and passed away, was a brain hemorrhage caused by an assault.
According to police and the bereaved family on the 31st, Kim visited a restaurant in Guri, Gyeonggi, with his son at dawn on Oct. 20 last year. It was reported that they went to a 24-hour restaurant because his son, who is on the autism spectrum, said he wanted to eat pork cutlet.
During the meal, Kim got into a physical altercation over noise and other issues with a customer sitting at another table. After being punched by the other party, Kim fell to the floor and was moved to a nearby hospital about an hour later, but was pronounced brain-dead.
Police identified a man, A, who assaulted Kim and applied for an arrest warrant. However, prosecutors returned the request, asking for supplementation.
At the request of the bereaved family and through supplementary investigation requested by prosecutors, police reapplied for arrest warrants for two people, including A, on charges of injury resulting in death.
However, the Namyangju branch of the Uijeongbu District Court dismissed the warrant, saying, "Their residence is stable and there is no concern about destruction of evidence."
Police then forwarded the case to prosecutors without detention last week.
The bereaved family noted that the assailants who killed Kim are freely walking around.
Kim was pronounced brain-dead on Nov. 7 last year and, through organ donation, gave new life to four people.
Born in 1985, director Kim Chang-min directed "Someone's Daughter" (2016) and "Guui Station Exit 3" (2019), which won the best director award at the Police Human Rights Film Festival. He also worked on the animation teams for "Man of Will" (2017), "Keys to the Heart" (2018), "The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion" (2018), "The Witness" (2018), "The Drug King" (2018), "Forbidden Dream" (2019), "The Closet" (2020), "Waiting for Rain" (2021), and "Firefighters" (2024).