Warrant issued for officer suspected of closing 200 missings persons cases and lying to families

A district court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for the police officer accused of prematurely closing missing persons cases on Jeju Island.

The Jeju District Court issued the warrant for the officer, identified only by the surname Bu. He faces charges of dereliction of duty, falsifying and using official electronic records and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.

"There are grounds to believe that the suspect may flee or destroy evidence," a judge said in a pretrial detention hearing held at the Jeju District Court on Tuesday.

The officer had been taken into emergency custody on Saturday but petitioned the court to review the legality of his arrest. He was released Monday after the court granted the petition, only to be detained again a day later.

The officer allegedly closed a missing persons case involving a 37-year-old named Jang Mi-ran without confirming her safety after she was reported missing on May 15, and subsequently deleted her information from the police's missing persons profiling system.

He is also accused of fraudulently closing another missing case involving a man in his 60s last month by falsifying records claiming he had made contact with him. 

Police found the man's body at an undisclosed location on Jeju on Saturday. Jang's body was recovered Monday morning in Hallim-eup on the island.

The officer is also suspected of closing more than 200 missing persons cases at his own discretion.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]