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| Kim Kwang-seok sings during a concert in 1994. /Korea Times file |
This week, almost 30 years after his death, the death of his daughter, Seo-yeon, rekindles that speculation.
On Friday, the prosecution announced it will investigate his daughter's death, accepting the family's request.
Earlier this week, police confirmed Kim Seo-yeon had been dead since 2007 and said she had died of acute pneumonia.
For a long time her mother said her daughter was living in the U.S.
The daughter's death is critical because she inherited the copyright to all of her father's songs upon his death and it indicates the mother deliberately kept her death secret for so long.
Kim's family claims the mother kept it secret to keep the money flowing into her pocket, and even that she killed her daughter who was believed to have suffered a developmental disability.
Born in Daegu in 1964, Kim was a famous folk singer in the 1980s and 1990s. His performances in which he also played harmonica and guitar were sellouts. His fellow musicians remember him as warmhearted, gregarious, down-to-earth and compassionate.
He wasn't happy in his marriage. His friends said his wife was jealous and controlling and he wanted a divorce _ some argued Seo had been in another relationship and Kim asked for a divorce the day before his death.
His body was found in his two-story home in Seoul. The police said they found him on a staircase with electric wires wrapped around his neck. His wife's brother, an ex-convict, was also on the scene when police arrived.
Speaking on an internet radio show, journalist Lee Sang-ho who has followed his death for decades recently quoted an anonymous detective as saying evidence was too thin to prove it was suicide, but proving he was murdered was equally difficult. The journalist detailed his murder theory in a documentary, "Suicide Made" which was released late August. Lee even asked the prosecution to ban Seo from overseas travel.
The singer's death unleashed a long legal fight over the family's fortune and the copyright of his songs between his wife and his family. His father took the properties and wealth, while his daughter got the copyrights. Now the copyrights to the songs are in Seo's name ― the family found this later and claims Seo replaced the daughter's name with hers secretly after her death.
Seo's whereabouts aren't clearly known.
Kim's family is also seeking a new investigation of Kim's death.
Rep. An Min-suk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said he's working to enact a special law this week, allowing the prosecution to resume the investigation of Kim's death. Currently, it's impossible because Kim's death was 20 years ago and is beyond the statute of limitations.
