False Closure and an Underved Commendation? "Just How Far Does the Lying Go?"

An incumbent police officer arrested on charges of falsely closing a missing person report received a citation from the National Police Agency Commissioner General for allegedly finding the missing person, after having falsely closed the case of a missing individual named Jang Mi-ran.

According to data submitted by the Jeju Provincial Police Agency to People Power Party lawmaker Park Su-min's office, Senior Inspector A of the Jeju Western Police Station, who falsely closed the missing person case, received a citation from the National Police Agency Commissioner General on June 26 for "meritorious service in finding a missing elderly person with dementia."

This came about a month after he falsely closed the missing person report regarding Jang.

It was also found that Inspector A received a total of 10 commendations since 2020, including a police station chief citation in September 2025 for swiftly finding a person attempting suicide, and a year-end regular citation from the head of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency in December of the same year.

However, Inspector A has a history of being referred to a disciplinary committee following an inspection into domestic violence, and is also under investigation on charges of secretly entering and filming inside a women's restroom.

Given this track record, critics point out that it is necessary to question whether he inflated past performance to receive awards and commendations.

Previously, Inspector A was accused of falsely closing Jang's case about two hours and 30 minutes after receiving the missing person report on May 15, as if he had made contact with Jang.

He is also accused of falsely closing a missing person case involving a man in his 60s received on July 2 of last year in a manner similar to the Jang case.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.