"We Can't Trust Police, We'll Search Ourselves": Vigilante-Style SNS Search Parties Emerge Amid Growing Distrust

Today's first hot topic.

Distrust toward police public authority is growing following incidents such as a recent case in Jeju that was falsely closed.

Consequently, so-called SNS search parties that directly share missing persons' information are reportedly on the rise.

On social media, thousands of posts containing the personal details and final routes of missing women in major areas such as Jeju are being shared.

Advice has even emerged suggesting that people should not rely solely on police when filing missing persons reports, but should also publicize the disappearance directly on social media.

Families of missing persons sometimes resort to hiring private investigation agencies, even bearing costs amounting to millions of won.

An official from a private detective agency stated, "Clients do report to the police first. However, because police handle such a high volume of cases, processing is delayed. Driven by the desperate desire to find their family members quickly even if it costs a large sum of money, many end up requesting our services."

Critics point out that behind this phenomenon lies an uncontrollable surge of distrust toward the police.

(Source: Seoul Shinmun, Screen capture: X (@creamsept))
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.