[Editorial] Police's False Closure of Missing Persons Cases Requires Full Investigation and Countermeasures

The recent arrest of a Jeju police officer for allegedly fabricating evidence to close missing persons cases has exposed critical flaws in the police's internal systems and handling of such sensitive investigations. Officer K, assigned to the Jeju Western Police Station's missing persons team, is accused of prematurely closing the case of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman who disappeared on May 12.

Despite Jang being reported missing three days later, Officer K allegedly informed the reporting party within two and a half hours that contact had been made and that Jang was safe but unwilling to disclose her location. This led to the immediate termination of search efforts. However, Jang's whereabouts remain unknown over three months later, and her phone records show no communication with Officer K. The delay in proper investigation is criticized for potentially missing the crucial 'golden hour' for search and rescue.

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We are sorry to the public and will institutionally supplement to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Further compounding the issue, Officer K is also implicated in the false closure of a missing persons case involving a 60-year-old man, Mr. K. This case was only re-investigated after the family reported him missing again, leading to the discovery of his deceased body on August 22. In both instances, Officer K allegedly acted unilaterally, closing cases and deleting records from the missing persons management system without supervisory approval or independent verification.

This incident, occurring in the wake of the 'Jang Yoon-gi incident' which previously damaged public trust, raises significant concerns about the police's reliability. With enhanced investigative powers set to be granted to the police under revised laws in October, a thorough overhaul of the entire missing persons process, from reporting and response to investigation and closure, is deemed essential to restore public confidence.

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The police must thoroughly investigate the full scope of the cases handled by this officer and comprehensively review the entire system for receiving, responding to, searching for, and closing missing persons cases to establish fundamental countermeasures.