• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.239-246
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• 2011

Korea has a problem in treating unnatural dead bodies; law enforcement police officers have a difficulty in analyzing an accurate cause of a death, for they are not specialized in autopsy. But they must take charge of the affair at a spot for the first time. Sometimes this may give an indulgence to a killer. It results in generating an unjust victim. So, a police activity in response to an unnatural dead body must be improved surely. As a response to it, this thesis scrutinizes the unnatural dead body treatment under the Japanese police system, taking a continental law, which has a legal structure similar to our's, and on the basis of it presents a suggestion in response to an unnatural dead body by Korean police. First, the system on treating the unnatural dead body has to be severe. Second, police engaging in treating the unnatural dead body have to take the education on treating dead bodies more deeply. Third, implements on treating dead bodies have to be secured.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.171-178
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• 2018

The ocean is a harsh environment and Korea Coast Guard officers often face the threat of death or going missing in the line of duty. In order to promptly identify unknown bodies during mishaps, Korea Coast Guard Research Center has established an identification system using the DNA of its officers. This collected DNA can also be entombed in National Cemeteries when the remains are not recovered. The storage, disposal and quality control of the materials are overseen by the Governing Committee according to the Enforcement Rules for the Human Biological Materials Storage Project for the Identification of Officers Killed or Gone Missing in Action. Approximately 700 bodies are found per year along the Korean coast. An alternative method should be put in place for when identification through fingerprints and teeth are not applicable due to severe decomposition or partial recovery. We believe it would greatly contribute to helping identify the unknown bodies if the storage project could expand its data to include marine industry workers, relevant researchers and those involved in marine leisure activities.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.398-408
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• 2015

Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication, arising from CO from an ignited charcoal briquette (ICB), is a popular means of committing suicide in Korea. Most CO intoxications are related to suicide attempts; however, the possibility of a homicide disguised as a suicide cannot be ruled out. Therefore, forensic investigation of the deceased and the crime scene is crucial to confirm that the deceased committed suicide. Detection of the components of an ICB on the objects suspected of being contacted by the deceased, such as the hands, nostrils, and doorknobs, is essential for linking the crime scene to the victim in the case of suicides by ignited ICBs. The traces from an ICB were analyzed by investigating the morphological characteristics and obtaining elemental compositions. The ICBs were completely different from blackened wood, as detected by discriminant analysis with the elements of carbon and oxygen. We analyzed one case of CO intoxication to demonstrate an excellent procedure for verifying whether a suicide occurred with an ICB. We employed SEM-EDX for the analysis of an ICB, microscope-FT/IR and pyrolysis-GC/MS for a partly burnt resin-type substance, GC/MS for diphenhydramine (a sleeping drug), and GC/TCD for the CO-Hb level. We detected traces of an ICB on the hands, nostrils, and doorknobs, which were all discriminated into an ICB group. Detection of ICB traces from the nostrils could indicate that the deceased started the fire themselves to commit suicide. The partially burnt black material was analyzed as an acrylronitrilestyrene polymer, which is normally used to make bags for carrying or wrapping and could be assumed to have been used to transport the ICB. Diphenhydramine, a sleeping drug, was detected at a level of 2.3 mg/L in the blood, which was lower than that in fatal cases (8-31 mg/L; mean 16 mg/L). A CO-Hb level of 79% was found in the blood, which means that the cause of death was CO intoxication. The steps shown here could represent an ideal method for reaching a verdict of suicide by CO intoxication produced by burning an ICB in a sealed room or a car.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2006

The cases of unidentified individual remains submitted to Forensic dentistry section in National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Korea were analyzed to study the application of forensic dental identification into individual identification in the period 2002-2005. The identification cases of unidentified remains were 405 out of 493, which accounted about 82% of whole cases. The incidence of submission of skeletons at least including the skull was increased from 58% in 2002 to 80% in 2005. The numbers of cases for the full examinations were 4 times more than that for age estimation in 2005. Twenty-four cases were submitted for skull to photographic superimposition and 15 out of 24 cases were examined, and the other 9 cases were examined by DNA analysis only. The submitted cases for dental comparison were 23 cases, 9 cases were positively identified, 4 cases were possible, 7 cases were excluded, and 3 cases ended up with insufficient evidences. The proportion of positive identification by dental methods was increased gradually from 9% in 2002 to 46% in 2005. Forensic dental identification has become important and useful because the availability of dental records and radiographs has been increasing. Compared to DNA analysis, forensic dental identification has several advantages such as no needs for high cost equipments and low expenses. And the interpretation of results is straightforward and speedy. These advantages are based on using primary their own dental records of the individuals rather than secondary DNA reference samples from family members. The application of the forensic dental identification to unidentified individual remains will be increased because the dental comparison can complement the limitation of DNA analysis and skull to photographic superimposition in many cases. In order to obtain positive identifications of unidentified remains, a close collaboration between the police and forensic scientists is important. The systemic approach including legislation to preserve dental records of unidentified remains and missing persons for the identification of unidentified remains should be needed.

• Anatomy & Biological Anthropology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.121-131
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• 2018

Stature is one of the unique biological properties of a person, which can be used for identification of the individual. In this regard, statures are estimated for the unknown victims from crimes and disasters. However, the accuracy of estimates may be compromised by inappropriate methodologies and/or practices of stature estimation. Discussed in this study are the methodological issues related to the current practices of forensic anthropological stature estimation in Korea, followed by suggestions to enhance the accuracy of the stature estimates. Summaries of forensic anthropological examinations for 560 skeletal remains, which were conducted at the National Forensic Service (NFS), were reviewed. Mr. Yoo Byung-eun's case is utilized as an example of the NFS's practices. To estimate Mr. Yoo's stature, Trotter's (1970) femur equation was applied even though the fibula equation of a lower standard error was available. In his case report, the standard error associated with the equation (${\pm}3.8cm$) was interpreted as an 'error range', which gave a hasty impression that the prediction interval is that narrow. Also, stature shrinkage by aging was not considered, so the estimated stature in Mr. Yoo's case report should be regarded as his maximum living stature, rather than his stature-at-death. Lastly, applying Trotter's (1970) White female equations to Korean female remains is likely to underestimate their statures. The anatomical method will enhance the accuracy of stature estimates. However, in cases that the anatomical method is not feasible, the mathematical method based on Korean samples should be considered. Since 1980's, effort has been made to generate stature estimation equations using Korean samples. Applying the equations based on Korean samples to Korean skeletal remains will enhance the accuracy of the stature estimates, which will eventually increase the likelihood of successful identification of the unknowns.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.6715-6721
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• 2015

Recently, DNA data of missing person, killed person, and missing child continue to increase but most of statistical calculation for paternity confirmation is being done through manual methods or Excel. Therefore, we need development of a software which is able to facilitate both systematic management and effective analysis of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) derived from DNA data. Without extensive testing, through a twenty-month study was developed a web-based system which performs paternity analysis and kinship analysis easily based on the various options. The former uses an existing algorithm for paternity index and the latter does Identity by descent (IBD) formula. Due to our system validated over real datasets in terms of likelihood ratio and probability of paternity, it ensures increased reliability as well as effective management and analysis of DNA data in mass disaster. In addition, it includes advanced features such as an integrated environment, user-centered interface, process automation and so on.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.115-121
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• 2021

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS), which are ethanol metabolites, are direct indicators of ethanol intake; they have been studied in a variety of biological samples in forensic science. It is necessary to analyze ethanol metabolites to determine whether the ethanol detected in autopsy cases was due to alcohol consumption before death or due to the ethanol produced from post-mortem decay. In general, EtG and EtS are detected in the blood together with ethanol; however, it may be difficult to secure blood depending on the extent of decay. Therefore, the aforementioned method should be replaced by detecting the ethanol metabolites using tissue biological samples. In this study, we determined the optimal experimental conditions for detecting EtG and EtS from spleen samples using Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Herein, the test method was validated, and an analysis method was applied to the actual autopsy cases.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2020

Alcohol, which can easily be obtained in the same way as ordinary beverages, is harmful enough to cause death due to excessive drinking and chronic alcohol intake, so it is important to maintain a proper amount of drinking and healthy drinking habits. In addition, the incidence of behavioral disturbances and impaired judgments that can be caused by chronic alcohol drinking of more than adequate amounts of alcohol is also significant. Accordingly it is very useful for forensic science to check whether the person involved is drunken or is alcoholism state in various accidents. Currently, in Korea, alcohol consumption is determined by detecting the level of alcohol or alcohol metabolism 'ethyl glucuronide (EtG)' in blood or urine samples. However, analysis of alcohol or EtG in blood or urine can only provide information about the current state of alcohol consumption because of a narrow window of detection time. Therefore, it is important to analyze the EtG as a long-term direct alcohol metabolite bio-marker in human hair and to investigate relationship between alcohol consumption and EtG concentration for the evaluation of chronic ethanol consumption. In this study, we established an analytical method for the detection of EtG in Korean hair efficiently and validated selectivity, linearity, limits of detection (LOD), limits of quantification (LOQ), matrix effect, recovery, process efficiency, accuracy and precision using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, the assay performance was evaluated in Korean social drinker's hair and the postmortem hair of a chronic alcoholism. The results of this study can be useful in monitoring the alcohol abuse of Korean in clinical cases and legal procedures related to custody and provide a useful tool to evaluate postmortem diagnosis of alcoholic ketoacidosis in forensics.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.256-263
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• 2008

Based on the analysis of criminal investigators' recognition of judicial autopsy, this study presented policy alternatives as follows. First, a procedure is needed that optometrists and investigators jointly make previous explanations to bereaved families the status of investigation and the results of examination to their satisfaction and collect their opinions, for the purpose of obtaining an agreement to autopsy from them. Second, the dignity of the dead should be kept. To this end, particular consideration should be given to women bodies. Also, we need to minimize the number of autopsy witnesses and obtain agreement from bereaved families when there is an on-the-spot study. Third, we need to establish a guideline that investigators could request a warrant later in certain cases of dead bodies. Also, if a bereaved family positively asks for autopsy, it should be allowed through tentatively named ‘Request for Autopsy.’ Finally, To make a careful decision on whether an autopsy should be made or not, we can form a joint investigation team of public prosecutors and criminal investigators; however, an autopsy should be done only if it is deemed inevitable, considering the bereaved family's opinion.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.94-96
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• 2020

In November 2013, a case of sustained combustion of a female body was encountered in a Korean farming village. The body was almost completely incinerated from the neck to the knees, and other parts of the body, such as the head, arms, lower legs, and feet, were slightly damaged. The most likely external ignition source was the flame from a matchstick. The elderly woman was found incinerated on the floor of the living room, while other objects in the house were largely undamaged except for having a brown oily or greasy coating. Flammable substances were not detected from the woman's intact pieces of clothing and socks, and her muscular tissues did not contain toxic chemicals. The concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in her peripheral blood was 11% and that of ethyl alcohol in her aqueous humor was below 0.010%. An autopsy failed to determine the exact cause of death because of excessive charring.