In a shocking turn, it has emerged that film director Chang-min Kim — who gave four patients a second chance at life through organ donation — actually died from a brain hemorrhage caused by an assault.
According to police, the bereaved family, and Yonhap News reports on the 31st, Kim visited a 24-hour restaurant in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, in the early hours of October 20 last year because his son, who is on the autism spectrum, wanted donkatsu (pork cutlet).
During the meal, a dispute over noise with another customer escalated into a physical altercation. In the scuffle, Kim was assaulted and collapsed to the floor. He was transported to a hospital only about an hour later and never regained consciousness.
Kim was declared brain-dead on November 7 last year. After saving four lives through organ donation, he passed away at Seoul Gangdong Sacred Heart Hospital.
The family has raised serious concerns about the investigation. They argue, "Even though there was a university hospital near the scene, the transfer was delayed by an hour and the golden time was lost." They also criticized, "There were multiple suspects, yet police initially requested an arrest warrant for only one person. They later expanded it to two, but those requests were also rejected," slamming what they called a shoddy investigation.
Police sought arrest warrants for suspect A and others on charges of injury resulting in death, but the Namyangju branch of the Uijeongbu District Court rejected the request, citing stable residence and a low risk of evidence destruction. The case was later forwarded to prosecutors without detention.
"It has been five months since the incident, yet the assailants are freely going about their daily lives," the family said, expressing frustration.
Kim entered the film industry in 2013 as a props team member on The Suspect. He later worked on the art team for Man of Will, The Drug King, The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, and Waiting for Rain. He also directed Geu Nugue-ui Ttal in 2016 and Guui Station Exit 3 in 2019.
His final work, Hoeshin, had been set to screen at a film festival, but he reportedly pulled the film, protesting how the festival treated it.