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🇸🇬 Singapore /Crime & Justice

South Korean Police Face Criticism After Reversing Position on Evidence in Jeju Death

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Police said the severely decomposed body of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran did not allow the National Forensic Service to establish a cause of death.
  • Investigators had previously suggested that Jang died by hanging, but her family and boyfriend challenged that theory and questioned a police reconstruction.
  • Jeju police are reviewing 298 missing-person cases handled by an officer accused of improperly closing Jang’s case.

Police in Jeju have withdrawn from an earlier suggestion that forensic evidence showed how Jang Mi-ran died. The National Forensic Service, which performed the autopsy, could not establish a cause of death because her body had severely decomposed.

Jang, 37, disappeared and her body was found 104 days later, on Aug. 24, at a palm tree farm in Hallim-eup, Jeju City. Police initially said the position of the body indicated hanging and later said the autopsy supported that conclusion. On Aug. 31, Hong Sug-ki, head of the National Office of Investigation, said investigators were keeping every possibility open.

The cause of death could not be determined because the body was severely decomposed.

— Hong Sug-kiThe National Office of Investigation chief explained why the autopsy could not establish how Jang died.

A senior police official later said suicide remained the main line of inquiry after investigators examined the scene. Acting National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoo Jae-seong also said he had received a report from Jeju police stating that Jang most likely died by hanging. Investigators found a rope they believed Jang had brought from home and tested the palm tree as part of their examination.

Jang’s family and boyfriend disputed the police theory. They said she had previously expressed fear about going near the farm, while questions also emerged over whether the palm tree’s structure matched the account.

We are investigating while keeping all possibilities open.

— Hong Sug-kiHe described the revised position in the death investigation.

Police drew additional criticism over an Aug. 27 reconstruction at the farm. They initially indicated that it showed the theory was physically possible, then clarified that no conclusion had been reached and that experts still needed to assess the results. The review could take time.

The case has also brought renewed scrutiny to adult missing-person investigations. An officer surnamed Bu allegedly told Jang’s family and boyfriend that police had confirmed she was safe but did not want to be found. Police later said they found no records that Bu had contacted Jang. Jeju police are reviewing 298 cases handled by the officer.

The results of the reconstruction have not yet been finalised.

— Jeju policePolice said the forensic reconstruction did not yet support a definitive conclusion.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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