Police Officer Confesses to Closing Missing Person Case Without Contact After Autopsy Report Presented

Police Officer Boo, the Jeju police officer who received the initial report regarding a woman in her 30s surnamed Chang last May, has admitted during a police investigation that he closed the case without ever speaking with Chang after the missing person report was filed.

According to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency on August 28, Officer Boo had previously maintained that he had "made contact" with Chang when closing the case. However, during an interrogation late the previous night, he admitted that his previous statements claiming he had spoken with Chang were false and acknowledged some of the allegations against him.

Police began to secure his admission after presenting telecommunication records showing no phone calls between them, along with an autopsy report estimating that Chang died in the early hours of May 12 and 13, prior to the initial missing person report.

Police stated, "Because there is a concern that Officer Boo might retract his statements, we cannot disclose specific details regarding the charges he has admitted to."

Police plan to continue investigating the motives and circumstances of the crime by deploying profilers and conducting forensic analysis.

Authorities plan to forward Officer Boo to the prosecution next week and hold an official briefing to reveal the motives and circumstances surrounding the case.

Officer Boo was arrested on charges of telling the reporter that he had reached Chang after a missing person report for Chang was filed on the afternoon of May 15, closing the case, and unlawfully deleting information related to Chang from the missing person profiling system management list.

Chang left the accommodation where she was on a long-term stay on the night of May 12, and a missing person report was filed on May 15.

Police recovered Chang's body near her accommodation on August 24, about 100 days after the initial missing person report.

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