More False Closures and Cancellations Found in Jeju Police Officer's Missing Persons Cases: 25 Additional Instances Discovered

10 Additional Cases Falsely Closed and 15 Canceled Using Fabricated Reasons

All Individuals Confirmed Safe

A police officer who had repeatedly closed missing person cases in Jeju with false reports has been transferred to the prosecution while under detention. During the investigation, an additional 25 cases of suspicious false closures or dismissals were discovered.

On the 24th, the body of Jang Miran, who had gone missing several months ago, was discovered in Hallim-eup, Jeju City. The police are controlling access to the palm tree farm in Suwon-ri where the body was found. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On September 1, the Jeju Police Agency announced the results of its investigation into Sergeant A (34) of the Jeju Western Police Station, who was detained and transferred on charges of repeatedly and falsely closing missing person reports. The police revealed that while reviewing all 298 missing person cases closed by Sergeant A between March 2025 and July 2026 during his time in the Missing Persons Team at Jeju Western Police Station, they found an additional 10 cases that are suspected to have been falsely closed, as well as 15 cases that appear to have been dismissed due to fabricated reasons.

Specifically, the 10 falsely closed cases include those in which the investigation was terminated without verifying the individual's safety, such as the case of Jang Miran (37), who went missing in May and was later found deceased. Of the 15 cases dismissed for false reasons, the local police had located the missing persons but recorded reasons such as death by traffic accident or natural causes instead. However, the police stated that all individuals reported missing in these cases have been confirmed to be safe at present.

A police representative commented, "This is not the end yet," adding, "It has emerged that, even before joining the Missing Persons Team, the officer supported related work while on the Criminal Investigation Team, so the inquiry has been extended to cover the period before March 2025."

Sergeant A of the Missing Persons Team at Jeju Western Police Station, accused of falsely closing a missing person case, is leaving the Jeju District Court on the 25th after completing a pre-arrest suspect interrogation. Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, the Jeju Police Agency transferred Sergeant A in detention on charges including falsification and use of official electronic records, obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, and dereliction of duty. He is accused of falsely closing missing person reports in the cases of a woman in her 30s who went missing in Jeju in May 2026, and a man in his 60s who went missing in July 2026, thereby neglecting his duty and hindering search efforts. All missing persons related to the falsely closed cases, including the woman in her 30s surnamed Jang, were later found dead.

The investigation found that on May 15, 2026, at around 6:43 p.m., Sergeant A received a missing person report concerning the woman in her 30s. Despite having no contact with the missing person, he falsely informed the reporting party that he had spoken with her, that she was safe, and that she requested her location not be disclosed. Later that day at 9:11 p.m., he entered this fabricated information into the 112 reporting system to close the case, and at 10:21 p.m., entered a "death by traffic accident" code into the profiling system to close and dismiss the incident.

In the case involving the man in his 60s, Sergeant A accepted the missing person report at around 6:02 p.m. on July 2, 2026, and, again without contact, deceived the reporting party by indicating the person's safety had been verified. At 11:22 to 11:24 p.m. on the same day, he entered false information stating "person found" in both the 112 reporting and profiling systems to close the case.

The police conducted cross-analysis of call records and forensic data from one personal phone and two work phones used by Sergeant A, two phones belonging to missing persons, as well as all landlines in the office where Sergeant A had been assigned. Although Sergeant A initially denied the allegations, the investigation revealed that he had not communicated with the missing persons.

Sergeant A stated, "Because the missing people were typical adults, I made the careless assumption that they were fine," and "I decided to close the cases falsely due to the burden of work that would have accompanied leaving them unresolved." Profiling analysis concluded that the main motive was work-related negligence stemming from accumulated work pressure and fatigue caused by increasing responsibilities. It was found that a pattern of avoidant coping and irresponsible behavior culminated in the criminal act of false closure.

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