Acting Police Commissioner Visits Jeju: "Public Trust Has Reached a Critical Point"

Kim Jongcheol, the newly appointed Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency (Deputy Commissioner), has issued his first directive, ordering a comprehensive overhaul of procedures for missing persons investigations.

Kim Jongchul, acting Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, is answering reporters' questions in front of the Jeju Police Agency on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Following his visit on the 3rd to the funeral parlor in Jeju, where services were being held for a missing man in his 60s who was found dead, Kim met with reporters at Jeju Police Agency and stated, "I feel a grave sense of responsibility for failing to protect the lives and safety of our citizens. I came to Jeju to directly examine the causes of the inadequate response onsite and to devise effective countermeasures."

Kim emphasized that he had "already issued overhauling measures for missing persons investigations as the very first directive in my role as Acting Commissioner," and added, "I will meticulously manage every step of the process—starting from the initial report of a missing person, through search and investigation, to closure—ensuring not a single gap remains." Regarding the direction of the investigation into the woman in her 30s who was found dead three months after her missing persons report, he explained, "We have been notified that the cause of death is indeterminate due to advanced decomposition. The investigation remains open to all possibilities, and once the findings are finalized, we will transparently present them to the public as they are, without omission or embellishment."

Kim also stated, "Given the current circumstances, I believe public trust in the police has reached a critical point due to police negligence. We will not merely offer words of reassurance or ask for blind trust; instead, we will be judged solely by our results."

Kim personally inspected the scene in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, where the missing woman in her 30s was found dead.

Kim Jongchul, Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency, and Kim Byungchan, Commissioner of the Jeju Police Agency, are inspecting the site in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, where a missing woman in her 30s was found dead on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, on September 1, the Jeju Police Agency transferred Officer A (age 34), a sergeant at Jeju Western Police Station, into custody on charges of falsifying official documents and using them, obstruction of official work through deception, and neglect of duty, after he repeatedly closed missing persons cases with false reports.

According to the police, Officer A falsely closed missing persons reports—including the female victim in her 30s who went missing in Jeju this May, and a man in his 60s who went missing in July—thereby neglecting his duty and obstructing search efforts. All of the missing persons cases that Officer A falsely closed, including that of Jang Miran (age 37), were subsequently found deceased.

In a briefing, the police shared that they had conducted a comprehensive inspection of 298 missing persons cases closed by Officer A while he worked in the Missing Persons Team at Jeju Western Police Station from March of last year through this July. As a result, an additional 10 cases were identified as likely having been falsely closed, and 15 more cases appear to have been closed with false reasons.

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