Police Conduct Reenactment Experiment Over Suspicions of Impossibility of Hanging from Palm Tree Trunk

Amid growing suspicions surrounding the death of a woman in her 30s, surnamed Chang, in connection with the "Jeju missing person case falsely closed," it has been revealed that the police even conducted a reenactment experiment to test whether hanging from a palm tree trunk is possible.

According to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, the police conducted a reenactment of the method presumed to be Chang's suicide at the palm grove in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, where Chang's body was found, on Thursday (August 27).

Based on the posture at the time the body was discovered and the autopsy results, the police have leaned toward the conclusion that there are no signs of homicide.

The police believe that Chang used a string she brought from her home, attached it to the palm tree trunk, and hanged herself while in a sitting position.

The autopsy report from the National Forensic Service also showed no specific fractures, except for a fracture found in the remaining part of the hyoid bone.

The National Forensic Service explained that the hyoid bone, also known as the lingual bone, is very thin and appeared separated in the middle in the autopsy photographs.

However, suspicions of homicide persist.

In particular, factors such as the characteristics of the Canary Island date palm—the type found in the grove where the body was discovered—having many thorns make access difficult and make it hard to hang heavy objects.

In response, the police conducted a strength test by pulling on the palm tree trunk during the forensic investigation at the time the body was found.

It was confirmed that on Thursday, the police selected a tree of a similar shape near the palm tree presumed to have been used by Chang for suicide, and conducted a reenactment experiment using a similarly shaped trunk, a string of the same strength, and the same weight.

Meanwhile, Police Officer Bu has partially admitted to the allegations, stating that he has not recently spoken with the parties involved in the missing person cases of Chang and a man in his 60s.

The police plan to focus on investigating Officer Bu's motive for the crime and uncovering any additional cases of falsely closed investigations.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.