Jeju Missing Person Case Exposes Flaws... Police Introduce Delayed 'Double-Lock' System

As suspicions grow that an investigating police officer falsely closed a missing person case without verifying safety regarding the disappearance of a woman in her 30s named Chang Mi-ran in Jeju, the police have belatedly moved to strengthen the management of missing person cases.

The Korean National Police Agency announced that it is currently working on improvements to its "Missing Person Profiling System."

Currently, front-line police officers can directly process the "cancellation of a missing person case" within the profiling system. However, the agency plans to establish a "double-check" mechanism where, in the future, if an officer requests the closure of a case, a manager such as a team leader or division head must review the entered information before the case is finally closed.

This very aspect triggered suspicions surrounding the initial handling process of the long-term missing person case of Chang Mi-ran in Jeju.

Although a missing person report regarding Chang was filed last May, an investigation is currently underway following allegations that Police Officer A, who was on night duty and received the initial report, closed the case on personal judgment without actually speaking with Chang.

In particular, the shock was compounded as these suspicions only came to light when her family members re-filed the report two months after the initial missing person report.

Aiming to complete the system improvements within a month, the police plan to require that when an officer requests a case closure, a manager must verify whether the reason for closure and the entered information match the actual reported details before approving it.

The police stated, "Prompted by this Jeju missing person case, the need for improvement has been highlighted, and we are rushing the work," but criticisms have emerged that this is a belated response.

(Reported by Kim Taewon, Video by Kim Minji, Design: Yang Hyemin, Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.