Jang Mi-ran leaves a guesthouse where she had been staying long-term in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, at about 10:15 p.m. on May 12, in surveillance footage showing her last known movements.JANG MI-RAN'S FAMILY
JEJU ISLAND — Police found a body Monday that may be that of Jang Mi-ran, whose missing person case remained closed for months after an officer allegedly falsely claimed to have made contact with her.
The body was found at about 10:46 a.m. in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, as police widened their investigation into the officer’s handling of Jang’s case and another missing person report he allegedly closed in a similar manner. The other missing person was found dead Saturday.
Police have not yetformally identified the body found Monday. Investigators plan forensic examinations and an autopsy to determine the identity, time and cause of death and whether there are any signs of foul play.
The officer, who was arrested Saturday, appeared at Jeju District Court on Monday for a review of whether his emergency arrest was lawful. Police had applied at about 5 a.m. Monday for a detention warrant covering both Jang’s case and the second missing person case, citing concerns that he could destroy evidence or flee.
The officer is suspected of failing to take required steps after receiving a missing person report from Jang’s family while on night duty on May 15 and closing the case. He reported that he had reached Jang, confirmed she was safe and that she did not want her contact information passed to her family. Investigators found no record of a call between them.
Police also suspect the officer entered false information into an internal missing persons profiling system and removed Jang’s case from active management, stopping further searches and follow-up investigation.
A missing-person poster for Jang Mi-ran put up by her family in JejuJANG MI-RAN'S FAMILY
Police say another case from July was handled in a similar way. The officer allegedly closed it without directly confirming the missing person’s safety and reported that the person did not want contact with family. The family later filed another report, and the person was found dead Saturday. Police have found no indication so far that the death involved a crime.
“What were police doing until there was nothing left but bones and the person could no longer be recognized?” the person’s relatives said Sunday after going to Jeju Seobu Police Station to protest how the case had been handled.
Police began an intensive search for Jang on Thursday, deploying about 140 police and Coast Guard personnel along with search dogs around Hallim Port, her lodging, the coastline and nearby brush. Jang's mobile phone signal was last detected around Hallim Port after she disappeared. Much of the surveillance footage that could have helped trace her movements had already been deleted by the time the search resumed.
Police are reviewing other missing persons cases handled by the officer and how they were closed.
Police search the Hallim Port area of Hallim-eup in Jeju City on Aug. 24 for Jang Mi-ran, who went missing in May.YONHAP
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.
