For anyone who has been following the news:
A body believed to be that of a 37-year-old woman who went missing on Jeju Island was found Monday, more than three months after her disappearance, as a police officer faces allegations that he falsely closed her missing-person case without contacting her.
The Jeju Provincial Police Agency said a woman’s body believed to be that of Jang Mi-ran was found at around 10:46 a.m. in the vicinity of Hallim-eup in Jeju City.
The body was discovered in a secluded wooded area about a 10-minute walk from the guesthouse where Jang had been staying around the time she disappeared. Hallim-eup was the last area where her whereabouts were confirmed before she was reported missing May 15.
Police plan to conduct a forensic examination to confirm the woman’s identity and determine the cause of death.
Jang left her home in Hallim-eup at around 10:15 p.m. on May 13 and subsequently lost contact with those around her. Her boyfriend filed the initial missing-person report at around 6:43 p.m. on May 15.
A police officer with the Jeju Western Police Station, identified only as A, allegedly closed the case after falsely recording that he had contacted Jang and that she did not wish to communicate with her family. Investigators later found that the officer had not contacted her.
Believing the police account, Jang’s family initially thought she was safe. After more than two months passed without any contact from her, however, the family filed another missing-person report July 19, prompting police to reopen the investigation.
Investigators found that the same officer had allegedly handled another missing-person case in a similar manner earlier that month.
After receiving a missing-person report concerning a man in his 60s on July 2, the officer allegedly falsely closed that case as well. The man’s family later filed another report, and he was found dead on Saturday.
Police arrested the officer on suspicion of dereliction of duty and falsifying and using official electronic records, among other charges, and requested an arrest warrant Monday.
The Jeju District Court is also set to hold an arrest review Monday to determine whether the officer’s arrest was justified. The procedure allows a court to review the legality and necessity of an arrest and decide whether the suspect should be released.
Before boarding a police vehicle bound for court Monday morning, the officer did not respond to reporters’ questions, including whether he admitted to the allegations.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
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