[Anchor]

A body believed to be that of Jang Mi-ran, who was reported missing last May and whose whereabouts remained unknown due to a false case closure by the police, was found a short time ago. An arrest warrant has been requested for a police officer who was emergency-arrested on charges of falsely closing the missing persons reports for Jang and one other individual.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae has the details.

[Reporter]

A body presumed to be Jang Mi-ran, who went missing in Jeju last May, has been found.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency announced that it discovered a body believed to be Jang at around 10:45 a.m. today (the 24th) near Hallim-eup, Jeju City.

The police plan to conduct a detailed forensic examination upon completing the recovery at the scene to verify the exact identity and cause of death.

An arrest warrant has been requested for Police Officer A, who was emergency-arrested on charges of repeatedly and falsely closing the missing persons reports for Jang and a man in his 60s.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency stated that it requested an arrest warrant for Officer A today on charges including dereliction of duty, falsification and uttering of official electronic records, and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.

Officer A is accused of arbitrarily closing the case without verifying Jang Mi-ran's survival after receiving her missing person report last May.

Officer A is also suspected of falsely closing a missing person report for a man in his 60s last month by making it appear as though contact had been made.

It was found that Officer A even deleted their data from the management list of the missing person profiling system, and informed the reporters, "We have made contact with the missing persons, and they do not wish to reveal their locations."

Ultimately, with the missing man in his 60s found dead the day before yesterday and Jang found dead today, critics point out that Officer A's false case closures have exposed institutional loopholes in how the police handle missing persons cases.

(Video Editing: Park Ji-in)