"We Will Dispel Public Concerns": Police Improve Response System for Missing Persons Investigations

Improvements Made After Jeju Missing Persons Case Falsification

Successful Rescue of Lives Through Swift Discovery of Missing Individuals

Following the false closure of the missing persons case in Jeju, the police have taken steps to improve the missing persons investigation system. These efforts have yielded meaningful results, including the swift search and recovery of missing individuals and the successful rescue of precious lives.

Kim Jongcheol, Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is answering reporters' questions after visiting the Jeju Police Agency immediately after his inauguration on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The National Police Agency announced on the 22nd that, prompted by the false closure and concealment of the missing persons case in Jeju, it has established measures to improve missing persons investigations. The agency explained that the system, which previously allowed missing person reports to be closed at the discretion of the on-duty officer at Jeju West Police Station’s missing persons team, has now been revised so that closures require approval from the chief of the criminal division. Additionally, the appropriateness of all missing persons investigations received the previous day must be reviewed in a daily meeting chaired by the head of the police station.

Furthermore, during nights and holidays—when previously only one on-duty officer responded—the system has been changed to require the deployment of two or more investigators. The agency is also working to establish dedicated missing persons investigation units at both the headquarters and the metropolitan/province police agencies, as well as to increase personnel in local missing persons teams. In addition, the enactment of the “Act on Missing Adults” is under way, to provide the legal basis for searching for adult runaways.

Comparing roughly a three-week period before and after these measures, the number of missing persons discovered rose from 7,768 to 12,793 cases, an increase of 64.7%. The proportion of missing persons found within three hours of being reported also improved, rising from 66.1% to 72.0%.

There were also numerous cases in which the police quickly located socially vulnerable individuals, such as those with dementia, persons with intellectual disabilities, or suicide attempters, and safely reunited them with their families. On the 12th, following a report about a mother with dementia who had gone missing from her home, Jeonbuk Provincial Police mobilized all available resources, including drones and helicopters. The missing person, who collapsed on a mountain slope, was found after 15 hours and taken to a hospital. On the 4th, Gyeongbuk Provincial Police responded to a report about a missing woman with intellectual disabilities. By confirming her cell phone location data placed her in Incheon, and with inter-agency cooperation, she was located within 10 hours.

A National Police Agency official stated, “We would like to thank the frontline officers who are working tirelessly each day and night to protect the lives and safety of missing persons, and we will continue to respond thoroughly without any lapse, even during the Chuseok holiday, so as to dispel public concerns.”

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