Editorials
Another death raises more doubts over police investigations
An officer accused of falsely closing a missing person cases has intensified concerns over police oversight just as investigative powers expand.
Police prepare for an intensive search at Hallim Port in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, on Aug. 20 for a woman who has been missing for three months. The search comes after revelations of serious police mishandling of the case, including the false closure of her missing person report.
YONHAP
A police officer at Jeju Seobu Police Station who falsely closed the case of a missing woman has been found to have similarly “closed” another missing-person case on his own. The missing man was found dead on Saturday, one day after his family reported him missing again.
Had police actively investigated and tracked him from the initial report rather than shelving the case, his death might have been prevented. Police arrested the officer, identified only by the initial A, on suspicion of dereliction of duty and are reviewing missing person cases he handled over the past year.
The way the officer buried the cases strains credibility. On July 2, he told the dead man’s family that he had contacted the missing person, who was safe but did not want his location disclosed to relatives, then closed the case.
In May, after a woman was reported missing, the officer similarly told his superior that he had contacted her and unilaterally closed the case just two and a half hours after the report. But no record of such a call has been found, raising suspicions that the report itself was fabricated. The woman remains missing. Police effectively buried the case, costing investigators the crucial early window for finding her.
When a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act abolishing prosecutors’ authority to conduct supplementary investigations takes effect in October, police will effectively hold exclusive investigative authority.
Yet following revelations of police manipulation and suppression of evidence in the murder of a high school girl in Gwangju, the Jeju cases are further fueling public anxiety over whether police can be trusted with such sweeping powers.
Even while prosecutors retain supplementary investigative authority, police have been able to shelve cases at their discretion and, in other cases, allegedly minimize investigations involving relatives of police officers. What might happen once police effectively monopolize investigations is deeply concerning.
Police must first examine their system for handling missing person reports and establish safeguards against similar failures. They should thoroughly review unresolved cases, recognizing that other cases may have been mishandled.
More broadly, as police powers expand sharply, authorities must strengthen investigative expertise and ensure higher ethical standards. Expanding police authority without first ensuring that officers have the competence and integrity needed to shoulder responsibility for investigations will ultimately leave ordinary citizens bearing the consequences.
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.
