Case of False Closure on Jeju Missing Person Report to Be Sent to Prosecution Soon

The case regarding the false closure of a missing person report in Jeju is set to be handed over from the police to the prosecution this week.

According to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency yesterday (the 30th), Inspector A, a police officer in his 30s belonging to the Jeju Western Police Station who was arrested on charges of dereliction of duty, falsification and uttering of official electronic records, and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, is scheduled to be transferred to the Jeju District Prosecutors Office within this week.

On the 24th, the Jeju District Prosecutors Office appointed the head of Criminal Division 1 as the lead prosecutor and formed a dedicated investigation team consisting of division members for the Case of Inspector A.

The prosecution stated that it will establish a close cooperative system with the police from the initial investigation stage and conduct a thorough investigation to clearly uncover the truth of the matter.

Once the case is transferred, the prosecution plans to focus on examining Inspector A's motive for the crime, additional instances of false closures, and whether there were any damages, based on the police investigation records.

The incident has also exposed flaws in the command structure, such as cases where superiors approved the false closure even after Inspector A processed it.

In addition, lingering questions remain completely unresolved, including whether there are any other instances of false closures by Inspector A.

As a result, attention is focused on how far the prosecution's investigative reach will extend ahead of the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority scheduled for October 2.

Inspector A is accused of lying to the reporter in May by claiming that he had made contact with a missing person surnamed Jang, self-closing the case, and falsely deleting Jang's data from the missing person profiling system management list.

He is also accused of falsely closing a missing person case involving a man in his 60s on July 2 using a method similar to the one used in Jang's case.

Following the discovery of the body of a man in his 60s at a location in Jeju on the 22nd, the police recovered the body of Mr. Jang in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, on the morning of the 24th.

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