1,596 Adult Missing-Person Cases Remain Unresolved Over Past Five Years, More Than 92% of Total

South Korea has failed to locate 1,596 ordinary adults reported missing over the past five years, a figure that accounts for 92.4% of all unresolved missing-person cases in the period.

The data, obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Ho-seon from the National Police Agency, covers cases recorded from 2022 through July this year. Police had yet to find the whereabouts of 1,727 people across all categories and continued to track or investigate those cases.

That broader total includes ordinary adults, children under 18, people with intellectual, autistic or mental disabilities, and people with dementia. Ordinary adult cases made up the overwhelming majority.

By year, police had not found 235 of 256 ordinary adults reported missing in 2022. The figures were 280 of 304 in 2023, 395 of 413 in 2024, 441 of 470 last year, and 245 of 284 through July this year.

The article says the high proportion of unresolved adult cases is linked to the classification of missing adults as people who have left home. The supplied report ends while describing how that classification affects tracking and search efforts.