Jeju officer sent to prosecutors over fake missing-case closures
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago5 MIN
Summary
A police sergeant in South Korea’s Jeju has been referred to prosecutors after allegedly lying that missing people had been found, then closing cases and deleting entries from the missing-person system. Jeju Provincial Police said the officer handled 298 missing-person cases while assigned to the missing-person unit at Jeju West Police Station from March last year to July this year, and investigators have now identified 27 suspected false closures, including two cases first uncovered earlier. The officer told investigators he treated cases involving ordinary adults too lightly and wanted to avoid the extra follow-up work and handover burden that came with leaving cases open. Police later found the body of a man in his 60s on August 22 and a body believed to be that of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran (張美蘭) on July 24 after the cases had been falsely closed.
Key Points
- Jeju Provincial Police held a press briefing on Tuesday, apologised publicly, and said the arrested sergeant had been transferred to prosecutors for investigation.
- The officer is accused of negligence of duty, falsifying and using official electronic records, and obstructing official duties by deception
- In one case, after a report that Jang Mi-ran, 37, went missing on May 12, he allegedly claimed he had contacted her and closed the case himself
- Police later found a body believed to be Jang’s in Hallim-eup on July 24, about one kilometre from her home, according to the reports.
- In another case received on July 2, he allegedly said a missing man in his 60s was safe, but police found his body on August 22.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the case underscores how administrative shortcuts in missing-person investigations can have grave consequences when frontline officers treat adult disappearances as low-risk. It also raises wider questions about police workload, supervision and digital record controls, especially when case closures can remove people from active search systems.