Missing Person Case Improperly Closed, Family Told to 'Find Him Themselves': Grieving Relatives Break Down in Tears

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The police officer who handled the case of Jang Mi-ran, a missing person in Jeju, has been found to have improperly closed a missing person report for a man in his 60s on the very day it was filed. The man was found dead about 50 days later. Despite the family's desperate pleas for help, police reportedly repeatedly told them to look for him themselves. Police have now launched a full investigation to check for any similar cases.

Reporter Jung Yong-ki from JIBS.

[Reporter]

People gather at the Jeju Seobu Police Station.

The grieving family, who lost their relative about 50 days after his missing person report was improperly closed, visited the police station to hold authorities accountable.

[Bereaved Family Member: What is the point of looking for him after he is dead? What good is it now!]

The missing person report for the man in his 60s was first filed on July 2 of last year.

However, the case was dismissed on the exact same day it was reported.

Afterward, the family visited the police station multiple times to ask for any information regarding his recent whereabouts, but the only response they received was to "find him yourselves."

[Bereaved Family Member: They (the police) said they heard him say, 'I don't want to contact my family. Do not look for me. If you give out my number, I will report you for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, Etc.' When we asked how we were supposed to find him then, they told us to 'look into it privately.']

The police officer who closed the case without contacting the man and released him from the missing person profiling system was the same officer who mishandled Jang Mi-ran's case last May.

After the family belatedly learned about Jang's case and re-filed the report on the 21st of last month, the missing man was found dead after just one day of searching.

Police urgently arrested the police officer holding the rank of Gyeongjang (senior patrol officer) and are expanding their investigation into whether there are other similar cases.

[Bereaved Family Member: Our hearts were burning up, but they talked as if it was none of their business, which was so frustrating. We don't know if the police are here for us or to protect their own people.]

As police continue intensive searches to find Jang, who has been missing for over three months, criticism against the police is expected to intensify further following the revelation of these additional improper case closures.

(Video by: Yoon In-su / JIBS)

Jung Yong-ki, JIBS
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.