Ilsan Police said yesterday that a mother-and-son kidnapping case reported Tuesday, for which more than 50 police officers were mobilized, was a hoax by the mother to get money and attention from her husband.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, a man surnamed Shim, 37, reported to the police that he had received a text message from his wife, surnamed Lee, that she and their 5-year-old son were kidnapped. 

Lee instructed her husband to transfer to her 150 million won ($138,770) as a ransom, according to the police. 

The police then searched for Lee’s car. According to Shim, Lee had driven her son to the doctor.

At 7:30 p.m., police traced Lee’s mobile phone, via GPS, to Euljiro-1-ga in central Seoul. 

Ilsan Police requested help from local police stations and they sent 50 to 60 police officers to search the area. At around 11 p.m., police confirmed that Lee was registered in a hotel in the area. 

Armed police kicked open the hotel room door preparing to overpower the kidnappers but found Lee and her son asleep on a bed and all alone.

According to police, Lee made up the kidnapping because she needed money and wanted attention from her husband because the couple were on bad terms. 

Although police considered charging Lee with obstruction of justice, she was sent home yesterday without any charge upon her husband’s request, the police said. Shim said his wife was suffering from depression, police said. 


By Yim Seung-hye [sharon@joongang.co.kr]