"Even After Tipping Off Police, They Did Not Search" — Body Found the Same Day as Jang Mi-ran, Neighbors Left Disheartened

[Financial News]  As a total of four bodies were found one after another across Jeju Province over the three days after the search for long-term missing Jeju resident Jang Mi-ran began in earnest, another missing person’s body was discovered on the same day Jang’s body was found. It has also emerged that police did not launch a full-scale search for that missing person until after Jang’s case came to light.
According to a report by JTBC on the 26th, a man in his 60s, identified as A, who worked as a cleaning laborer, had been living alone in a villa in Aewol-eup, Jeju Province. On the afternoon of the 9th, he left home and headed toward a nearby streamside hiking trail. That was the last time he was seen.
When A did not return home, his family reported him missing three days later. Police who responded to the report said they traced his movements through closed-circuit television footage from inside the villa and statements from residents.
After that, however, police were no longer seen. One neighbor told JTBC that he had specifically explained to police the route A usually took to go exercise, but officers did not actively search the area.
Police only began searching in earnest after Jang’s case surfaced. In the end, on the 24th, the day Jang’s body was found, A was discovered in a valley right next to the hiking trail that residents had identified as his usual route. It had been 12 days since the missing-person report was filed.
The neighbor told JTBC, "If they had searched right away, they could have found him quickly. It is heartbreaking."
Meanwhile, police said they were not prompted to begin searching only because of Jang’s case. However, it was also found that the request for a joint search with the fire authorities was made on the 24th as well.
Police are reportedly investigating A’s exact cause of death.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter