Interior Minister Expresses Apology Over Police Misconduct, Demands Thorough Probe into Jeju Missing Persons Case

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung has instructed the police leadership to thoroughly uncover the truth behind the false closure of the Jeju missing persons case and to review the police's missing persons response system.

Chairing an emergency police leadership meeting at the Government Complex-Seoul, Minister Yun issued the directives, saying, "As the Minister of the Interior and Safety responsible for public safety, I take the misconduct of police officers extremely seriously, and alongside the police leadership, I offer my sincere apologies to the public."

"We must thoroughly uncover the truth of the Jeju incident," he urged, asking officials to "closely examine the motives and circumstances of the case, as well as whether it is connected to larger misconduct, such as the concealment of other cases."

He went on to emphasize, "I hope you will conduct a comprehensive inspection of all cases handled by the person in charge, as well as long-term missing persons cases across all police offices nationwide. If any misconduct or inappropriate work practices are revealed in this process, those responsible must be held strictly accountable."

Pointing out the structural flaws, Minister Yun stated, "It is also necessary to examine whether the current police missing persons operation system is properly designed and operated. This incident is both a personal deviation by the individual in charge and a revelation of structural defects in the missing persons system."

"While improving the missing persons profiling system is important, what is more important is an in-depth approach to all aspects of the work," he requested, adding, "I hope you will review the current missing persons response system once again and come up with improvement measures."

Minister Yun also stated that a general review of overall police operations is necessary.

"I ask you to comprehensively review your respective duties and swiftly push forward with improvements," he urged, adding, "If there are legal and institutional inadequacies, discussions with the National Assembly and related ministries should be expedited."

Today's meeting was attended by Minister Yun, Acting Police Commissioner General Yoo Jae-sung, and all bureau directors and senior officials.

It is unusual for the Minister of the Interior and Safety to hold an emergency meeting with the police leadership over a specific issue.

The move is interpreted as an effort by the Interior Minister, who oversees national security, to step forward and handle the situation after public trust in the police plummeted following a police corruption case in Gwangju shortly followed by the Jeju missing persons false closure case.

Following Minister Yun's opening remarks, the National Police Agency reported on measures to improve missing persons investigations and reform the police investigation response system.

The improvement measures for missing persons investigations included plans to enhance the operation of missing persons investigation teams and systems, as well as ways to improve the recruitment of new police officers.

As for reforming the police investigation response system, reports were made on measures to strengthen the fairness of police investigations and dispel public concerns over the concealment of cases, such as operationalizing the National Police Commission and establishing an investigative human rights and inspection body for the police.

"Ahead of the historic criminal justice system changes coming this October, there must not be even the slightest institutional loophole," Minister Yun repeatedly emphasized. "Through flawless institutional design, we must ensure that practices such as concealing cases or protecting one's own can no longer find a foothold."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.