Another missing person found dead on Jeju
Police found a missing person dead near a Jeju valley, saying the case is unrelated to allegations that an officer falsely closed other reports.
Police search for Jang Mi-ran, who went missing since May, near Hallim Port in Hallim-eup, Jeju, on Aug. 24.
YONHAP
The body of another missing person on Jeju Island was found Monday, according to police.
The missing person was found dead near a valley in Aewol-eup, Jeju, at around 9:35 a.m., police said Monday. Officers conducting a search for the person reportedly found the body.
Police said the person was found after the missing person report and search were handled through normal procedures and that the case was unrelated to recent allegations that an officer had falsely closed a separate missing person case.
The person's family had recently filed a missing person report with police. Police had been tracing the person's whereabouts since receiving the report and plan to investigate the exact cause and circumstances of the death.
Police also stressed that the case was unrelated to the case involving Officer Bu, who worked with the missing persons unit at Jeju Seobu Police Station and allegedly falsely closed missing persons reports, including that of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman who has been missing for over three months.
Jang went missing on May 15, after her boyfriend reported her to police at around 6 p.m. However, Officer Bu, who handled her case, allegedly closed it around 9 p.m. the same day, claiming they had made contact with her, but no phone records show any such call actually happened.
The officer then deleted her file from the missing-persons tracking system, compounding the false closure and further burying the case.
He was placed under emergency arrest on Saturday over allegations that he falsely closed the missing person case of Jang and another involving a man in his 60s. However, he was released Monday after a court cited problems with the arrest procedure.
Police have since launched a nationwide review of missing-persons case closures generally, since the pattern raised concerns that this officer's conduct might not be isolated.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
