Detention warrant sought for officer accused of falsely closing Jeju missing persons cases

Authorities have requested a warrant for a police officer on suspicion of falsely closing a missing person case on Jeju Island.

The warrant was sought on charges including dereliction of duty, falsifying and using official electronic records and obstruction of official duties by deception, the Jeju Provincial Police said Monday. The officer was placed under emergency arrest on Saturday.

“We sought the warrant because of concerns that the officer could destroy evidence or flee,” the police said.

The officer is suspected of falsely telling the boyfriend of missing person Jang Mi-ran that she had been contacted and then closing the case. The boyfriend had reported Jang missing after she left her home in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, with her phone and could not be reached. Jang's family filed another missing person report with police in July after they were still unable to reach her.

The officer is also suspected of deleting Jang’s information from the police missing person profiling system’s management list.

In a separate case, the officer allegedly used a similar method to falsely close another missing person case on July 2.

The person in the other missing-person case was found dead at an undisclosed location on Jeju Island on Saturday.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]