It has been additionally revealed that a police officer in Jeju, who falsely closed missing person cases, failed to investigate even after capturing clues related to a case.
It was found that Police Inspector A of the Jeju Seobu Police Station covered up the missing person case of a man in his 60s who was found dead in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, on the 22nd, despite receiving a report implying that the missing person had a lot of debt.
According to data received from the Korean National Police Agency by the office of lawmaker Seo Myung-ok of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, the wife of the man found dead reported to 112 on July 2nd, stating that her husband had left a message saying, "I failed in my business and have a lot of debt" and "Eat well and live well," before losing contact.
However, the officer in charge, Inspector A, did not even attempt to contact the man. Instead, he falsely told the bereaved family that "contact has been made, he is safe, but he does not wish to let his family know his whereabouts," and closed the case.
As the missing man did not return, the family repeatedly visited the police station, but they said they only received responses telling them to "find him on your own."
Later, on the 21st, after it became known that Inspector A had falsely closed the case of another missing person, Jang Mi-ran, the family re-filed the missing person report.
Eventually, 51 days after the report was filed, the man was found dead the next day.
Holding a press conference, the bereaved family vented their anger, saying, "We waited trusting the police's word that he was safe, but what returned was a body," and "The police only told the family to look for him themselves."
While conducting a full investigation into all 298 cases closed by Inspector A since he was assigned to missing person duties in March of last year, the police have also placed four members of the command line—including the current and former chiefs of the Jeju Seobu Police Station, the head of the criminal division, and the missing persons team leader—on standby.
Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.