[Exclusive] No telecom investigation or DNA test was conducted when Ms. Jang went missing... Police say cause of death remains unknown

[Financial News] It has been confirmed that police did not launch a telecom investigation or DNA test when the late Ms. Jang was first reported missing, even though she was later found dead 104 days after disappearing in Jeju. Police explained that follow-up tracing measures, including telecom checks and DNA testing, were not carried out because the officer in charge closed the case after entering false reasons. They are taking a cautious stance on the circumstances of her death.
According to materials submitted by the Jeju Provincial Police Agency to Han Dong-hoon's office on the 31st, police did not begin a telecom investigation or DNA test under Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Rules on Handling Cases Involving Missing Children and Runaways when Ms. Jang was first reported missing.
The rules require investigators to begin tracing efforts to locate missing children and runaways through methods such as interviewing the reporter and witnesses, searching the last known location and residence, conducting telecom investigations including location tracking, carrying out DNA tests, and checking the missing children profiling system.
On May 15, when the first missing-person report for Ms. Jang was filed, police requested location information to help rescue her. However, they did not proceed with telecom investigations or DNA tests.
Police said the reason those measures were not taken was the false case closure by the officer in charge, A police sergeant. In a phone call with Financial News, an official from the Jeju Provincial Police Agency said, "At the time of the initial investigation, the detective entered false reasons and closed the case," adding, "That is why those investigations were not carried out."
The case was reported to police again on July 19, when a relative said that "contact had been lost for two months."
A police sergeant has been detained and is under investigation on suspicion of falsely closing Ms. Jang's missing-person case and others. Police are continuing their investigation into Ms. Jang's case.
After Ms. Jang's body was found, police had been investigating the possibility of suicide, but they have not drawn any conclusions about the exact circumstances of her death.
At a press briefing on the day, Hong Seok-gi, chief of the National Office of Investigation, said regarding the cause of Ms. Jang's death, "The National Forensic Service's autopsy found that, due to body decomposition, the cause of death could not be determined." He added, "We are investigating while keeping all possibilities open."
Meanwhile, police plan to complete an initial review of about 310,000 closed missing-person cases from the past three years by the end of November, following the Ms. Jang case.
Hong said, "We ordered a full review on the 24th, and as of the 28th, more than 15,100 cases were under review," adding, "So far, nothing has been reported as a major problem." He noted, however, that the 15,100-plus cases were not all closed remotely, and that police are checking on a case-by-case basis whether each one was closed in person or remotely.
Police also plan to improve how missing-person investigation personnel are deployed. Regarding the fact that many dedicated missing-person teams at police stations currently operate with a single officer on night duty, Hong said, "In the long term, it is right for multiple officers to be on duty," adding that the necessary staffing levels will be analyzed and reflected in the plan.
A reexamination of the 298 missing-person cases previously handled by A police sergeant, who is accused of falsely closing Ms. Jang's case, is now in its final stage. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency deployed about 20 personnel to review all of those cases, and it plans to explain the detailed results on the 1st.

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter