Police probe additional victims of false closures

President Lee expresses 'devastation and sorrow'

Family members of a man in his 60s who was reported missing July 2 but found dead 51 days after his case was falsely closed hold a press conference outside the Jeju Western Police Station on Sunday to protest the handling of the case. [Yonhap]
Family members of a man in his 60s who was reported missing July 2 but found dead 51 days after his case was falsely closed hold a press conference outside the Jeju Western Police Station on Sunday to protest the handling of the case. [Yonhap]

A police officer accused of concealing the disappearance of Jang Mi-ran, 37, in Jeju handled 298 missing-person cases on his own, authorities have found. Police are investigating whether additional victims were harmed by similarly falsified closures.

Senior Patrol Officer Bu of the Jeju Western Police Station closed Jang's case just two and a half hours after it was first reported on May 15, claiming he had reached her by phone and that she did not want her location disclosed. Phone records from Bu's mobile device showed no contact with Jang. Bu also deleted records related to her from the internal police system used to track missing persons. While he suppressed the case and no proper search was conducted, all closed-circuit television footage that could have helped trace Jang's whereabouts was deleted. A body believed to be hers was found Monday near the lodging where she had been staying — 104 days after she went missing. A man in his 60s whose case Bu had closed in the same manner was found dead Saturday.

The false closure came to light when the case was re-reported on July 17 and July 19. As public outrage grew over the deliberate concealment and the failure to respond promptly, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency moved to take Bu into custody. A court later ruled that the emergency arrest had not met legal requirements — even though a standard arrest warrant had been available — and Bu was released Monday. The Jeju agency applied for an arrest warrant the same day on charges including dereliction of duty. A pre-indictment detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Jeju District Court.

The case exposed a structural flaw allowing a single officer to close a missing-person case unilaterally, prompting police to announce that supervisory approval would be required before any such case could be closed. Acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Yoo Jae-seong told a plenary session of the National Assembly's Interior and Safety Committee on Monday that he had ordered cases to be closed only after manual sign-off from a team leader and section chief until the relevant systems are upgraded.

An internal affairs investigation has also been launched into the supervisory chain above Bu. The Korean National Police Agency's internal affairs office said Tuesday it had begun an audit to establish the facts surrounding the false closure of the Jeju missing-person case, covering the entire case-handling and command-supervision structure.

Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung bowed in apology over the discovery of the body believed to be Jang's. "The police failed to fulfill their proper role, and a citizen's life that could have been protected was lost," he said. "I am deeply sorry to the family, who must be consumed by grief."

President Lee Jae Myung ordered a thorough investigation into the entire police handling of the Jeju false-closure case. Cheong Wa Dae Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said at a briefing Monday that Lee had directed a review of the police command-and-supervision structure as a whole and instructed authorities to draw up a fundamental reform plan and a self-reform proposal. Kang added that Lee conveyed his sense of devastation and expressed deep sorrow over the incident.


arin@heraldcorp.com