Police chief apologizes for falsely closing missing person case in Jeju

Hong Seok-ki, head of the National Investigation Headquarters, apologized to the public on June 23 for the mishandling of the Jang Mi-ran missing person case in Jeju. "I am sorry to the public," Hong stated, vowing to implement institutional improvements to prevent recurrence. He made these remarks to reporters after visiting the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, explaining that he inspected the site to ensure no shortcomings existed in a matter concerning public safety.

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I am sorry to the public.

Hong presided over a two-hour investigation meeting at the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, reviewing the case's progress. The meeting addressed the improper handling of the missing person case, with strong criticism and discussions on necessary follow-up investigations and improvements. Hong emphasized that not only the officers directly involved but also their supervisors must take responsibility for the case processing. Following the meeting, he visited the search site in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, to assess the search area and progress.

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We will make institutional improvements to prevent this from happening again.

The National Investigation Headquarters is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation across all police stations nationwide to identify any instances of false closure of missing person cases. Hong instructed the Jeju police to thoroughly examine related cases and to deploy maximum available police resources for the search. Previously, it was revealed that the officer in charge had falsely claimed Jang was safe to the reporter and then improperly closed the case, deleting it from the system. Another missing person case was similarly mishandled on June 2.

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Because it is a matter related to the lives of the people, I checked the site to see if there were any shortcomings.