National Police Agency apologizes over false closure of Jeju missing-person cases... Prime Minister Han Seong-sook says swift measures to prevent recurrence

[Financial News, Jeju = Reporter Jung Yong-bok] The National Police Agency issued an official apology in the National Assembly after it emerged that the same officer in Jeju had falsely closed two missing-person cases. Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said the government would swiftly strengthen dual supervisory checks and computer controls so that a missing-person case cannot be closed based solely on one officer's judgment.
At the comprehensive policy questioning session of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the National Assembly held on the 24th, Moon Dae-rim of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) focused on the false closures of successive missing-person cases in Jeju and the police's poor response.
Moon also raised questions about police's initial response and case management after noting that a body believed to be that of a 37-year-old woman, identified as Jang Mi-ran, was found in Jeju more than three months after she went missing.
Moon asked Kim Byung-chan, head of the National Police Agency's Personnel and Planning Office, "Will you apologize on behalf of the National Police Agency to the missing person and the family who suffered for months because of the police's false reports and poor response?" Kim replied, "I offer my apology and I am truly sorry."
The missing-person report for Jang was filed in May, but A, a sergeant with the Jeju Western Police Station who handled the case at the time, is accused of telling the reporter that contact had been made and closing the case without actually speaking with Jang or confirming her safety.
Police investigations also found that A removed Jang's case from the profiling system used to manage missing persons. Once the case was closed, the initial search was halted. The search resumed only after the family filed another report, but by then many of the CCTV recordings that could have traced Jang's movements had already passed their retention period.
Police found a body believed to be Jang's at around 10:46 a.m. during a joint search in the Hallim-eup area of Jeju-si. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and police are identifying the victim and determining the cause of death through forensic examination.
Moon also criticized the fact that the same officer handled another missing-person case in a similar manner.
A is also accused of closing a missing-person case involving a man in his 60s, filed on July 2, by telling the family that contact had been made with the missing person. After the family reported the case again, police launched a search, and the man was found dead on the 22nd, 51 days after the initial report.
"This was not a one-time mistake, but two. The same officer falsely closed missing-person cases in the same way," Moon said, arguing that the matter should not be dismissed as the misconduct of one individual.
He also demanded an investigation into whether the police station's leadership properly supervised the case-handling process and whether the system for managing and overseeing missing-person cases functioned normally.

Moon also proposed specific institutional reforms to prevent a recurrence. He called for a rule that would prevent a missing-person case from being closed based on the judgment of a single officer and require a supervisor to review the case again before closure.
He also suggested preserving the history of any edits or deletions made to records in the missing-person profiling system, and installing computer controls that would automatically notify supervisors and higher authorities when key records are changed.
His point was that the current procedure, which is meant to confirm a missing person's safety, can be undermined by false entries from the officer in charge, making it necessary to have safeguards that check both human judgment and the computer system.
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said, "I truly feel deep sorrow over the case," adding, "We are reviewing the points you raised internally, and we will actively push them forward as quickly as possible."
A criminal investigation into A is also under way. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency has arrested A on charges including dereliction of duty, falsification and use of false public electronic records, and obstruction of official duties by deception, and filed for an arrest warrant on the 24th.
Police are also checking whether there were other improper closures in cases A handled while assigned to missing-person investigations.
In both missing-person cases, the victims were eventually found dead or presumed dead, but no direct causal link has yet been confirmed between the police's false closures and the deaths. The exact circumstances of death and the impact of the police response must be determined through separate investigations and forensic examinations.
The controversy that began in Jeju has expanded from an investigation into the officer involved into a broader debate over how police manage missing-person cases. Going forward, the key issue in preventing a recurrence is expected to be how police command responsibility and the authority to close cases in computer systems are controlled.


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