It definitely appears the family from Gwangju killed themselves after their car was found submerged in the waters of Wando island:
Police investigating the mysterious deaths of a 10-year-old girl and her parents found last month in a car sunk in waters off the southwestern coast said Wednesday that sleeping pill ingredients have been found in their bodies.
The Gwangju Nambu Police Station said it was recently informed by the National Forensic Service of the detection of sleeping pill ingredients in the remains of Cho Yu-na, a Gwangju elementary school student, and her parents in their 30s.
Cho and her parents, who resided in the southwestern metropolitan city of Gwangju, were found dead on June 29 inside their family car pulled out of waters off Wando, a quiet island about 120 kilometers south of their home. The family went missing about a month earlier after last being seen alive on closed-circuit TV at a Wando guesthouse on May 30.
A very sad ending to the story of the missing family on Wando:
Police obstruct the view of rescuers pulling bodies out of a car found in the sea off the southwestern island of Wando on June 29, 2022. (Yonhap)
The family of three — a 10-year-old girl named Cho Yu-na and her parents — went missing last month while staying at a guesthouse in Wando, an island 362 kilometers south of Seoul.
Following massive search operations, police found the Audi sedan the family rented upturned underwater near Wando a day ago and hauled it out of the sea Wednesday.
Inside the vehicle, police found three bodies presumed to be those of the family, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police and the Coast Guard in Wando.
Police plan to confirm their identities through fingerprint examinations and an analysis of their belongings, officials noted.
Cho had been absent from her elementary school in Gwangju since May 19 after reporting she would take part in an outdoor learning program on Jeju Island together with her parents for about a month.
Her school reported her absence to the police a week earlier as she did not show up for class upon the termination of her reported one-month leave.
You can read more at the link, but it is believed the death of family is related to the economic issues the father was experiencing when he lost his business. Assuming this was a suicide it seems very selfish to kill the kid.
UPDATE: The car of the missing family has been found and we should soon know whether the bodies of the family are in it:
Police on Tuesday said they found the car of a missing family off the southwestern coast after a female elementary school student and her parents disappeared mysteriously from a guesthouse in the region about a month ago.
The car with the same license plate as that of the family — 10-year-old Cho Yu-na and her parents in their 30s — was found at about 5:12 p.m. hanging on the fence of a fishing farm off Wando, according to local police and coast guard.
Whether there were bodies inside have yet to be confirmed. Police said they plan to raise the car from the water early the next morning after taking necessary measures to protect any evidence.
This is a very weird story, hopefully this family turns up:
Police divers search for Cho Yu-na, a 10-year-old, and her parents near a dock on the southwestern island of Wando on June 26, 2022, in this photo provided by the Wando Coast Guard.
A massive police search has been under way for a family of three missing on a remote island on the southwestern coast, as a female elementary student and her parents disappeared mysteriously from a guesthouse there about a month ago.
Police said Monday the search for 10-year-old Cho Yu-na and her parents in their 30s, who reside in the southwestern metropolitan city of Gwangju, entered its sixth day on Wando, a quiet island about 120 kilometers south of their home.
Cho has been absent from her Gwangju school since May 19 after reporting that she would take part in an out-of-school experiential learning program on Jeju Island together with her parents until June 15.
In South Korea, students applying for out-of-school experiential learning are recognized as attending school.
But Cho did not return to school after her out-of-school field trip ended on June 16. The school then filed a missing persons report with police on June 22 after repeatedly failing to contact the family on their cell phones.
You can read more at the link, but the parents sold their computer business before driving to Wando. They were seen on camera leaving their guesthouse at 11PM at night and turning off their cell phones near a dock at 4AM in the morning. Their car has not been found as well. This is all very weird circumstances that hopefully authorities can get answers to.
