Jeju 'False Closure of Missing Person Case' Sparks Political Concern... Opposition Calls to Stop Prosecution Office Disbandment

Yoon Sanghyun: "Internal controls alone cannot filter out errors and misconduct"

Some in the ruling party also express concern..."Criminal law should be amended if necessary"

Amid growing controversy over the police investigation related to the 'false closure of a missing person case' in Jeju, voices are emerging in political circles warning against hasty reform of investigative agencies.

On August 24, Yoon Sanghyun, a member of the National Assembly for the People Power Party, wrote on his Facebook, "A citizen in Jeju has been missing for more than three months. Although the family filed a missing persons report, the officer in charge falsely recorded that 'they had contacted the missing person' and closed the case. In reality, there was no record of such a call."

Assemblyman Yoon pointed out, "While the family waited, relying on that statement, the golden time for the search passed. By the time the investigation was reopened, most of the surrounding closed-circuit (CC)TV footage had already been deleted. What is even more distressing is that the police officer closed another missing person case reported in July in the same manner."

Jang Miran, who went missing last May in Hallim-eup, Jeju.
Photo by Yonhap News

He stressed, "This incident demonstrates that errors and misconduct cannot be completely filtered by internal controls alone within an investigative agency. The internal control system failed to detect the false closure by the officer during the handling of the missing persons case, ultimately causing a serious gap in the search directly related to the public's safety."

In particular, Assemblyman Yoon voiced concern over the transition to a new system—replacing the prosecution office with the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crime Investigation Office on October 2 as part of investigative agency reform. He said, "As of 2024, there were 32,935 suspects who had not received a final disposition after a request for supplementary investigation, including 8,674 fraud cases. Simply removing the prosecution’s signboard is not true reform. If we also abolish mechanisms for other agencies to check errors, how can this be called reform for the people? I demand an immediate halt to the prosecution office’s disbandment set for October 2 and to postpone its implementation."

On the 20th, police were preparing a focused search at Hallim Port in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, to find Mr. Jang, who has been missing for three months. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Concerns were also raised by the ruling party. On the previous day, Lee Eonju, a member of the National Assembly for the Democratic Party, wrote on Facebook, "This case has heightened the public's anxiety about whether the police, with full responsibility for investigations, have the capability, integrity, and legal expertise to properly close cases. Even if the principle of separating investigative and prosecutorial functions is maintained, effective cooperation and information sharing in the process must be ensured. If necessary, amendments to criminal law should be made."

Previously, on May 12, a woman in her 30s, Jang Miran, left her home in Hallim-eup, Jeju, and has been missing for three months. Officer A—a sergeant at the Jeju Western Police Station—received the initial missing person report at 6:43 p.m. on May 15, three days later, and then, at 9:16 p.m., more than two and a half hours later, falsely entered into the 112 case handling system that "contact had been made with Ms. Jang," thereby closing the case with fabricated information.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency urgently arrested Officer A on August 22 on charges including dereliction of duty, falsification of official electronic documents and their use, and obstruction of official business by fraudulent means. The investigation also revealed that, on July 2, Officer A had similarly falsely closed another missing person case.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.