Police sergeant who handled Jang Mi-ran missing-person report as a death case two hours after it was filed

[Financial News] A police sergeant from the Jeju Western Police Station, who is accused of falsely closing the missing-person case of Jang Mi-ran, 37, who went missing in Jeju, was found to have deleted related records after falsely classifying her in the system as a "traffic accident victim."
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 25th, the sergeant closed the case about 2 hours and 30 minutes after receiving the initial missing-person report on May 15. He is also said to have selected the code "traffic accident victim" to delete Jang's records from the missing-person profiling system used by police.
The missing-person profiling system classifies reported cases into four categories: "missing children, etc.," "runaways," "unidentified dead bodies," and "traffic accident victims." Records are removed from the management list only when a special reason code, such as unidentified death or traffic accident victim, is selected. Although there had been speculation that the sergeant had classified Jang as an "unidentified death," investigators found that he actually deleted the records by marking her as a "traffic accident victim."
Earlier, Jang's boyfriend filed a missing-person report with police on May 15. Investigators said the sergeant, who received the report, falsely claimed that he had contacted Jang and that she was safe, and that she had asked not to reveal her location. He then closed the case and deleted the system records.
Police arrested the sergeant on the 22nd on charges of dereliction of duty, falsifying and using false public electronic records, and obstructing official duties by deceptive means. He requested a review of the legality of his arrest and was released on the 24th after the court approved the request, but was taken back into custody on the 25th.
He is also accused of falsely closing a missing-person case involving a man in his 60s, identified as B, which was filed on the 2nd of last month, using a method similar to the one used in Jang's case.
Meanwhile, police found a body believed to be Jang on the morning of the 24th, 104 days after the missing-person report was filed, during a joint search at a palm tree farm in Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, at around 10:46 a.m. An autopsy confirmed that the body was Jang Mi-ran, and no unusual fractures or other notable injuries have been found so far.
Police are investigating the exact cause of death, including a forensic analysis of Jang's mobile phone, while keeping all possibilities open.
[email protected] Kim Soo-yeon Reporter