[Anchor]
When a woman named Chang Mi-ran went missing in Jeju last May, the responding police officer lied that they had "made contact" and unilaterally closed the case. The police have now belatedly decided to revise their missing person handling procedures.
JIBS reporter Jung Yong-gi has the details.
[Reporter]
The first missing person report for 30-year-old Chang Mi-ran was closed in just over two hours.
The missing person report was filed on the evening of May 15, but the responsible police officer closed the case at around 9 p.m., claiming they had "gotten in touch with Chang."
However, no record of phone calls between the two could be found.
[Boyfriend of missing Chang Mi-ran (on the 19th): When I asked, "Did you see her face in person, or did the substation staff see her?" they said, "We managed to speak with her over the phone during the search, so we withdrew."]br />
Along with the false closure, the search was also halted.
Police searching around Hallim Port withdrew, and by the time her family filed another report, more than two months had passed.
In the meantime, a significant amount of nearby CCTV footage had been deleted.
This incident exposed loopholes in the missing person handling system.
The assigned officer had been able to lift the missing status in the computer system entirely on their own.
[Lee Do-sun / Professor of Police Science at Hannam University: The fact that there was a vulnerability in internal control regarding the case-closing procedure itself is a major point of concern. It can undermine public trust in the police.]
The National Police Agency has decided to overhaul the Missing Person Profiling System used nationwide.
Going forward, when an officer requests to lift a missing person case, a "double-check" procedure will be introduced in which a supervisor verifies the reason and facts before granting approval.
With the whereabouts of the missing person remaining unknown for over three months, criticism and accountability are expected to grow further against the police for belatedly coming up with improvement measures after glaring loopholes in missing person investigations were exposed.
(Camera Journalist: Kang Myung-chul, JIBS)
Jung Yong-gi, JIBS
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.