Officer who falsely closed missing-person case received commendation a month later

Jang Mi-ran, 37, who went missing in Jeju. [Provided by the victim's family]

A police officer detained on charges of falsely closing the missing-person case of Jang Mi-ran, 37, in Jeju received a commendation from the national police chief a month after Jang's disappearance — for finding a missing elderly dementia patient — stirring controversy. He has also been confirmed to have received 10 commendations since 2020, raising questions about the integrity of the awards review process.

According to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Park Su-min on Wednesday, the officer — a corporal in his 30s attached to the Jeju Western Police Station — received a commendation from the Korean National Police Agency chief on June 26 for "meritorious service in locating a missing elderly dementia patient."

That was about a month after May 15, when he falsely closed the missing-person report filed for Jang.

On May 15, the corporal received a report that Jang had left her accommodation and could not be reached, then falsely closed the case roughly two and a half hours later as if he had made contact with her.

He reportedly told Jang's boyfriend, who had filed the report, that he had confirmed she was safe after speaking with her and that she had asked not to have her location disclosed — and then deleted the related records.

The corporal also faces charges of falsely closing a separate missing-person case involving a man in his 60s, reported on July 2, in a similar manner.

Despite this, the corporal received a police station chief's commendation in September 2025 for quickly locating a person who had attempted suicide, and in December of that year received a year-end regular commendation from the Jeju Provincial Police Agency chief. In total, he has been confirmed to have received 10 commendations since 2020.

A Jeju police corporal detained on charges of falsely closing the missing-person case of Jang Mi-ran and others leaves the Jeju District Court on Tuesday afternoon after a pre-arrest warrant hearing. [Newsis]

Meanwhile, Jang, whose body was found 104 days after she went missing in Jeju, is believed to have died in the early hours of the day after she left her accommodation.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency said Wednesday that while advanced decomposition made it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause and time of death, the forensic pathologist's preliminary verbal assessment indicated she likely died by hanging.

Police also said no clear evidence had been found so far to suggest Jang died as the result of a crime.

"Based on the position and location of the body at the scene and the pathologist's preliminary verbal assessment, we consider the likelihood of foul play to be low," police said, adding that forensic examination of the scene found a cord belonging to Jang on the upper trunk of a palm tree.

However, police stressed that they were keeping all possibilities open, including the possibility that a homicide had been staged, as the advanced state of decomposition made it difficult to determine whether a sex crime had occurred.

yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com