It Was Not the First Time... Police Officer Arrested for 'Fake Case Closure'

[Anchor]

Police have urgently arrested an officer in charge for falsely closing a missing persons case in Jeju. It has been revealed that the same officer also falsely closed another missing person case that occurred last month. The missing person in that case was ultimately found dead.

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

This CCTV footage shows Ms. Jang Mi-ran on May 13, when she was last captured on camera.

A missing person report was filed two days later at 6:43 PM, and police conducted door-to-door searches around Hallim Port in Jeju, where her mobile phone's location signal appeared, but failed to find Ms. Jang.

Meanwhile, Police Inspector A, a man in his 30s stationed at the Jeju Western Police Station, closed the 112 emergency report by claiming, "I spoke with the missing person on the phone, and she asked not to disclose her location." Police halted the search at 9:16 PM.

An investigation revealed that while closing the case, Inspector A completely deleted Ms. Jang's information from the police's "missing persons profiling" system.

Inspector A also failed to follow internal police "missing persons investigation manuals."

To prevent individuals from interfering with investigations by impersonating missing persons over the phone, police regulations dictate that officers must meet the missing person in person before closing a case, a rule that was ignored here.

Police also confirmed that Inspector A falsely closed another missing persons case that had been dismissed on July 2, much like the case of Ms. Jang Mi-ran.

In the case from last month, a re-report was filed yesterday, August 21, which uncovered Inspector A's additional false case closure, and the missing person was eventually found dead.

Police have stated that there appear to be no criminal ties surrounding the second missing person.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency urgently arrested Inspector A this afternoon on charges including dereliction of duty, falsification and uttering of public electronic records, and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.

Experts emphasize the need for specific legislation dedicated to handling missing persons cases.

[Lee Gun-soo / Professor of Police and Criminal Investigation, Baekseok University: We need to enact a missing persons law without age restrictions so that whenever anyone disappears—whether children, women, or youth—investigations can begin immediately. Missing persons cases are a race against time. That is why the law is necessary.]

Additionally, police arrested a teenager, B, under the Stalking Punishment Act for sending 17 text messages and making phone calls to the phone number made public by Ms. Jang's family, telling them, "If you let me hear a moan, I will help you find the missing person."

Police announced that they have also taken Emergency Measure No. 2 against suspect B, prohibiting him from approaching the victims via telecommunications.

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: Cho Su-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.