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Sungjae Kim’s solo debut in 1995. Broadcast screen at the time

In the early morning of November 20, 1995, Kim Seong-jae (23), a former member of the popular dance group Deuce, was found dead at the Swiss Grand Hotel in Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It was the day after the successful solo debut stage after the dissolution of Deuce.

April 1993 song <나를 돌아봐>Deuce, who debuted with’Seo Taiji and Children’, was an icon of the music industry in the 1990s. While the musical basis of Seo Taiji and the children was rock, Deuce, made up of Kim Seong-jae and Lee Hyun-do, was a musician who consistently pursued black music based on New Jack Swing and Sol. This is why Deuce is said to be the origin of Korean hip-hop.

It has been 26 years since he left. During those indifferent years, the suspicions surrounding Kim Seong-jae’s death have not yet been resolved. This is why the Kim Seong-jae case is called the largest unsanctioned case in the Korean entertainment industry.

Among violent cases, such as murder and robbery, which have attracted social attention, the police consider the case in which the arrest of the suspect has not been arrested even though it has been more than six months as an unprecedented case in practice. According to the crime statistics of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in 2019, 808 of the total number of murders (including both jockeys and attempts) were arrested, and 41 cases remained unsanctioned (footnote 1).

The bereaved family of Kim Sung-jae still lives in pain today. The sudden death of the eldest son, who was the most serious, caused the life of the family to fall. Because he did not know who the killer was or the reason for his death, he could not even let the dead completely go. Korean society should look back on whether there were any problems with the investigation at the time so that this tragedy does not repeat itself. In particular, the case of Seong-jae Kim is a representative case of awakening the importance of the first police investigation. The problem of the autopsy system at the time when the case was plunged into a labyrinth did not change much today. Issues such as rejection or adoption of expert testimony are also valid. All are public interest values ​​that should be pointed out in the case of Kim Seong-jae.

For the past one year and six months, in order to find out the truth of the day, I reviewed more than 3,000 pages of related documents such as investigation and trial records, newspapers and magazine articles at the time, and interviewed with investigation agencies and court officials at the time. I met bereaved family members and acquaintances, and sought advice from forensic scientists and doctors. The lawyers of former girlfriend Kim Seong-jae, who were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial, were finally confirmed innocent in the Supreme Court, also contacted several times. Now, let’s take a look at the truth of death that shocked Korean society 26 years ago. _Editor’s note

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Main characters
K: Kim Sung-jae’s girlfriend
L: Kim Sung-jae high school alumni and manager at the time of the incident
Mi-Seung Yuk: Sung-jae Kim’s mother
Noah Ryu, Jin Kim, Joan Kim, Tricky, Nicole: Seongjae Kim Backdancer
Jin Sera: Music Video <말하자면> Heroine

“The amount of practice? The amount of practice is short. If someone is confident who can do this in a month, they ask them to come out. Sorry to be a little arrogant. Really, this is what I say with confidence.” Kim Seong-jae, who returned to the dressing room after finishing his first solo debut stage, said, stealing sweat from his forehead with a tissue. As he said, the stage on this day was all-time high, including songs, performances, and costumes. It was Sunday, November 19, 1995. After the dissolution of Deuce, Sungjae, who went to Los Angeles (LA), USA on July 21st of that year with Lee Hyun-do, received an offer to make a solo debut in early September. The record label asked me to return to Korea in November. Record work, choreography practice, music video and photo shoot were all done within two months. On the eve of returning home, Seongjae had dinner with Hyun-do. “Hyeondo, how long will we be apart?” Said Seongjae. Hyun-do thought that she should encourage her as she seemed to feel the burden of being alone. “Hey, you can go to Korea. No need to worry You’re Deuce Kim Seong-jae, what are you worried about?” On that day, the two made a plan for their summer vacation and talked about what they couldn’t do. No one knew it was the last. After that day, Hyundo could not see Seongjae’s face again (footnote 2).

On the morning of Wednesday, November 15th, Seongjae, who returned to Korea, unpacked her luggage in the annex 57 of the Swiss Grand Hotel Suite Annex in Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, with the back dancer team’WEST’. The dormitory rented for two months was 45 pyeong (about 149㎡) with three rooms and two toilets, and the monthly rent was 6.5 million won. Seongjae had a busy schedule from the morning of the 16th, the day after returning home, to the 19th with magazine interviews and radio appearances. Seongjae’s watch was as busy as it was during Deuce. Sunday 19 November. It was cloudy all day. It snowed for a while in the morning and then stopped. SBS with Sungjae’s debut stage <생방송 TV가요 20>I arrived at the SBS Public Hall in Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, using a van to appear on the show at around 12:00 noon. The broadcast starts at 4:20 pm, but I had to rehearsal. On this day, a video of the back of Seongjae’s debut was filmed. This video, which can still be found on YouTube, under the title of’The Back of Kim Sung-jae’s Debut’, appears in the trial process later. At 5 pm, Seongjae stood on the stage. The video from Deuce’s days unfolded on the screen behind the stage. Written and composed by Hyundo Lee <말하자면>The prelude of came out. It was a dance song that contained the sad feelings of a man who could not confess his love. Seongjae showed off the secret choreography he prepared for a month. It was Kim Sung-jae’s time. On the debut stage, the backdancer team WEST also drew attention. Black Trikey and Nicole were cousins. Above all, the stage costume with ice hockey suit was the best part. Seongjae, who wore black pants and a T-shirt with an American flag pattern, wore a protector made of shorts worn by ice hockey players. I wore ice hockey gloves on my hand, a bike mask around my neck, and goggles sunglasses. It was a style from the future. Seongjae, who successfully completed his debut stage, spoke with Seo Taeji and the children who were moving from the corridor to the waiting room. Yang Hyun-seok and Lee Ju-no shared a hug from the time they were dancing at the Itaewon club’Moon Night’ in Seoul, and since they were brothers and sisters, they greeted the same age with Seo Tae-ji. It was the first and last scene where two dance group members representing Korean pop music in the 1990s met on one screen.

in April 1993, was an icon of the music industry in the 1990s and the origin of Korean hip-hop along with’Seo Taiji and Children’. Photo from the remix album Rhythm Light Beat Black, released in September 1994. Hankyoreh materials” alt=”Deuce, which debuted with in April 1993, was an icon of the music industry in the 1990s and the origin of Korean hip-hop along with’Seo Taiji and Children’. Photo from the remix album Rhythm Light Beat Black, released in September 1994. Hankyoreh materials” />

April 1993 <나를 돌아봐>Deuce, who debuted with’Seo Taiji and Children’, was an icon of the music industry in the 1990s and the origin of Korean hip-hop. Remixed album released in September 1994 <리듬 라이트 비트 블랙>Photo from (Rhythm Light Beat Black). Hankyoreh materials

“Did you see your mom?” After finishing the broadcast, Seongjae called his mother, Mi-Seung Yuk. “Of course, it was so cool. It wasn’t because he was my son, but he was really cool. Have you suffered a lot during that time?” Yuk Mi-seung said. “Mom, I’m so thrilled that I’m just nervous. I sincerely congratulated my fellow singers that they were really cool!” “Sungjae, my mom will go to the hostel now.” “No, Mom! We all have dinner together and go to the dorm. From tomorrow, the sky is on both sides. I will go home with Noah. I’m going to pack everything to go home tonight.” “I want to see you soon… .” On that day, Mi-Seung Yuk strangely thought of going to the dorm. That was the last call with Sungjae (footnote 3). The fateful night was coming. Looking at the statement from the police and prosecution stage and the judgment of the first and second trial, it was around 6:30 pm that girlfriend K received a call from Seongjae to go to the fast food restaurant KFC in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul. The two met by chance in September 1993 at a nightclub in Gangnam, Seoul. Was it because his dream as a child was a dentist, Seongjae quickly became close to K, who attended D college dental school. K, who graduated from dental school in early 1995, fell on the national exam and was doing his job. On this afternoon, K received a request from Sungjae to record his debut stage. K put the videotape, cosmetics, wallet, pager, etc. recorded in a black fur bag (footnote 4), and left his home, Yeouido S apartment in Seoul, wearing a dark brown coat. K lived in 42 pyeong in the name of his parents with his grandmother and younger sibling. Their parents ran a pharmacy for a long time in their hometown, Jeonbuk. The time when K headed for Apgujeong-dong using the white Granger (Seoul 2-re 8○○○) was just past 7 pm. When I arrived at KFC about 30 minutes later, 9 people including Seongjae and Ryu Noah, Kim Jin, Kim Joan, Tricky, Nicole and Jin Sera, manager L, and makeup artist were eating dinner. Jin Se-ra, who appeared as the female protagonist of the music video filmed in LA, was a Korean-American who returned to Korea with Sung-jae to make her debut in the Korean entertainment industry. After dinner, Seongjae and his party went to the nearby billiard room’Dartmouth’ and left the pool in about 20 minutes. Seongjae, Kim Jin, and Ryu Noah rode in the Grandeur driven by K, and the remaining four (Kim Joan, Tricky, Nicole, Jin Sera) excluding the makeup artist who returned home took a van driven by L to the Swiss Grand Hotel. Headed. It was passing 9 pm. Around 10 pm, I arrived at the hostel in turn. Gathered in the living room, I watched and watched the debut stage video recorded by K. Everyone was happy, saying,’The first broadcast was good. Seongjae, who was sitting on the sofa and drinking Miller’s beer, also looked happy. It was around 11:30 when Kim Jin, Kim Joan, Nicole, Jin Sera, and Trikey went to the room first. Kim Jin, Kim Joan, and Jin Sera used the innermost room, while Nicole used the room next to it, and the room closest to the living room was used by Tricky. Sungjae, K, Noah Ryu, and L, who remained in the living room, talked while watching the recorded videotape.

Kim Sung-jae’s solo album, who became the last film. Hankyoreh materials

Around 1 am, Ryu Noah went to the big room saying he was tired. L, who turned on the laundry dryer in the utility room, laid a mattress in the living room. Seongjae was lying on the sofa. Then Noah Ryu said in the big room. “Don’t sleep in the living room, brother, let’s sleep with me in the room.” After staying at the hotel, L, who had been sleeping with Seongjae in the living room, went to the big room with a yogurt at Ryu Noah’s words. At that time, K was removing Seongjae’s makeup (footnote 5). At the same time, Mi-Seung Yuk received a phone call from his home in Pyeongchon, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was only ideal to join the military as a manager. “What is it?” “I’m sorry, I called. When I aired earlier, Seongjae hyung told me to come to the dorm, but I couldn’t go home because of work.” “I want to go to Seongjae too… .” “So, shall we go? Shall I go to Seongjae hyung with my mother now?” “But if I go now, will I wake up Seongjae?” The two hung up the phone, saying that their first debut today was really cool. “I didn’t feel like that for nothing… .” In an interview with the reporter, Mi-Seung Yuk couldn’t talk about the day. At that time, everyone went to bed, and only Sungjae and K were left in the living room. K is the only statement in this time period. K said that while talking about the broadcast while rubbing his arm lying on the sofa, he returned home at 3:40 am. K’s return time later became the subject of a sharp battle. Monday, November 20th at 6 am. Manager L came out into the living room. Seongjae lay down on the sofa with his head turned to the right at an angle, burying his face halfway in the pillow. L woke up Sungjae. There was no reaction. L thought she would be tired, so she let her sleep more. 6:30. L, who was carrying clothes and accessories, went to the big room and woke up Noah Ryu, Jin Kim, Joan Kim, and Sera Jin. After that, I woke up Seongjae again, but there was no response. He raised Seongjae’s shoulder, asking him to get up with Tiki. My body was drooping. My lips were blue (footnote 6). At this time, Noah Ryu saw that there was blood around Seongjae’s mouth (footnote 7). Seongjae was unable to control his body. Kim Jin shouted. “Seongjae brother is not moving.” This was 6:40. Tricky and L shook him again after putting Sungjae on his face. The clock was heading towards 6:50. Noah Ryu called the front desk. “Please call an ambulance.” The time when the paramedic at the Hongeun Police Box in the Western Fire Department received an order from the 119 command room was 7:7. At 7:11, four minutes later, paramedics arrived at the hotel. At the front door of the annex, I was guided by the staff and went into Room 57 on the 2nd floor with an emergency stretcher. It was just before the sun rises.

Seongjae was lying on the sofa to the right of the entrance. He wore earrings, a green long-sleeved T-shirt, and blue shorts. There was blood on the pillow cover at the scene, and Noah and L said they had found it, but the paramedics stated that they had not. The paramedics hurriedly checked the carotid artery. I couldn’t feel the Mac well. There was no trauma, but she showed cyanosis, which turned her face and lips blue. Judging that the condition was urgent, Seongjae was transferred to a stretcher and then transferred to a vehicle. At 7:21, the ambulance left the hotel and headed to the nearby Serim Nursing Hospital. The ambulance was accompanied by L and Noah Ryu. I arrived at the hospital emergency room at 7:24 am. The paramedics handed over Sungjae to the on-call doctor and returned. The on-call doctor turned over Seongjae’s eyelids and checked his breathing. The pupil was already dilated and breathing stopped (footnote 8). “You were destined.” Said the on-call doctor. It was sunny, but it was cold.

Oh Seung-hoon <한겨레> Reporter [email protected]
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