Interior Minister Apologizes for Police Misconduct, Demands Thorough Probe into Jeju Missing Persons Case

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-joong has instructed police leadership to thoroughly uncover the truth behind the false closure of a missing person case in Jeju and to review the police's missing persons response system.

Presiding over an emergency meeting with police leadership at the Government Complex-Seoul, Minister Yun gave the directive, stating, "As the Minister of the Interior and Safety responsible for public safety, I take the misconduct of police officers very seriously, and I sincerely apologize to the public alongside the police leadership."

He urged, "The truth of the Jeju incident must be thoroughly investigated," adding, "I hope you will closely examine whether it is linked to larger misconduct, such as the motive and circumstances of the case, or the cover-up of other cases."

He further emphasized, "We hope for a comprehensive inspection not only of the cases handled by the officer in charge, but also of long-term missing person cases across all police offices nationwide. If any misconduct or inappropriate work practices are revealed in this process, those responsible must be held strictly accountable."

Pointing out the structural issues, Minister Yun stated, "A review is also necessary to determine whether the current police missing persons operation system is properly designed and operated," adding, "This incident is both a personal deviation by the person in charge and a revelation of structural flaws in the missing persons operation system."

He continued, "While improving the missing person profiling system is important, what is more important is an in-depth approach to overall operations," requesting, "Please review the current missing persons system once again and prepare measures for improvement."

Minister Yun stated that a review of overall police operations is also necessary.

He urged, "I hope you will comprehensively review your respective duties and swiftly promote improvements," adding, "If there are legal and institutional inadequacies, discussions with the National Assembly and related ministries must be expedited."

Attendees at today's meeting included Minister Yun, Acting National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoo Jae-sung, and all bureau chiefs and senior officials.

It is unusual for the Interior Minister to hold an emergency meeting with police leadership over a specific issue.

This is seen as a move by the Interior Minister, who oversees national security, to step forward and manage the situation after public trust in the police plummeted significantly due to the Jeju missing person false closure case, which occurred shortly after a police corruption scandal in Gwangju.

Following Minister Yun's opening remarks, the National Police Agency reported on improvement measures for missing person investigations and plans to reform the police investigation response system.

The improvement measures for missing person investigations included plans to enhance missing person investigation teams and system operations, as well as improvements in the recruitment of new police officers.

As for the reform plans for the police investigation response system, reports were made on measures to strengthen the fairness of police investigations and dispel public concerns over the concealment of cases, such as substantializing the National Police Commission and establishing a police investigation human rights and inspection investigation body.

Minister Yun repeatedly emphasized, "Ahead of the historic changes to the criminal justice system coming this October, there must not be even the slightest institutional loophole," adding, "Through airtight institutional design, we must ensure that practices such as the concealment of cases or protecting one's own cannot take root."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.