Police tape is set up near the site in Hallim-eup, Jeju, on Aug. 25, where the body of Jang Mi-ran was found 104 days after she went missing.NEWS1
The body found in Jeju on Monday has been conclusively identified as 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, the woman reported missing by her family whose case was falsified by a police officer.
“An autopsy conducted on Tuesday morning found no unusual fractures and the body’s fingerprints were no longer identifiable,” the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Police Agency said Tuesday. “DNA samples have been collected and are undergoing an expedited analysis, while we received a verbal opinion from a forensic odontologist that the dental examination matches the missing person.”
The autopsy began at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Jang’s body was moved to a funeral home after her identity was confirmed. Determining the exact time and cause of Jang’s death will require a more detailed autopsy by the National Forensic Service. Police said it is expected to take some time before the agency issues its final findings.
Jang’s body was found Monday, 104 days after she went missing. According to Jeju police, an officer taking part in a joint search discovered the body of a woman in her 30s at around 10:46 a.m. in Hallim-eup, Jeju. The site was about a 10-minute walk from where Jang’s movements were last traced after she left her accommodation on the night of May 12.
Her body was found in bushes near a road roughly 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the pension where she had been staying long-term, which she left at around 10:15 p.m. that night. The site is about a five-minute walk from the pension.
Jang’s mobile phone and e-cigarette, which she had with her when she disappeared, were found near the body. She was still wearing a bracelet and ring.
Police are conducting a digital forensic examination of the phone. They plan to determine the circumstances of her death based on the DNA analysis, phone forensics and other evidence.
Jang had been missing for more than three months after leaving her residence in Hallim-eup on the night of May 12.
A police officer surnamed Bu leaves the Jeju District Court on Aug. 25 after a detention warrant hearing.NEWS1
Separately, a decision on whether to detain a serving police officer surnamed Bu, who is accused of falsely closing Jang’s missing persons case, is expected to come later on Tuesday.
The Jeju District Court held a detention hearing for Bu at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on charges of dereliction of duty, forgery and use of public electronic records, and obstruction of official duties through deception. Bu is awaiting the court’s decision at a detention facility at the Jeju Dongbu Police Station.
The officer is also accused of falsely closing the missing persons case of a man in his 60s, reported on July 2, using a method similar to the one allegedly used in Jang’s case. The man was found dead on Saturday.
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.
