Regarding the case of a 37-year-old individual surnamed Chang who went missing in Jeju, all 118 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras near the presumed disappearance site were completely erased in mid-June, Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon announced on the 23rd.

According to data submitted to lawmaker Han by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, none of the footage from the time of the disappearance remained across a total of 118 CCTV cameras, including 111 security cameras in the Hallim-eup area where Chang vanished and 7 traffic information collection cameras operated by the Jeju Autonomous Police Corps Traffic Information Center.

It was found that no footage from May 12 to 20, which includes the presumed date of disappearance (May 13), remained available.

The deletion dates were confirmed to be between June 11 and June 19.

Jeju Province responded to lawmaker Han's office by stating that the deletion was automatic.

The retention period for the footage from the 118 CCTV cameras is 30 days, and the data was automatically erased once the time limit expired, according to the explanation.

Police belatedly attempted to secure the footage, but it was long after the retention period had expired.

Lawmaker Han found that the official document requesting access to the security camera footage was sent to Jeju Province by the Jeju Seobu Police Station only on the 19th.

This marks 98 days since the presumed date of disappearance, 96 days since the initial report (May 15), and 61 days since the entire footage was deleted (June 19).

Lawmaker Han pointed out, "The CCTV footage, which could have served as a clue to trace the whereabouts of Chang who went missing in Jeju, vanished due to the police closing the case," adding, "At the time of the initial report on May 15, footage from all 118 cameras was fully preserved, meaning it was in a state where it could have been sufficiently secured."

He went on to criticize, "The criminal justice system is not designed on the premise that all investigators are competent and diligent. Because of those limitations, dual and triple safeguards were put in place, one of the core elements being the supplementary investigation authority. The Democratic Party stripped away those safeguards without providing alternatives. Ultimately, the safety net to filter out shoddy initial investigations has disappeared, and the price is being paid by the victim and their family."