A body presumed to be Jang Mi-ran, who went missing in Jeju last May, has been found 104 days after her disappearance.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency announced that the body was discovered around 10:46 a.m. today (the 24th) during a joint search near Hanrim-eup, Jeju City.

The body is in an advanced state of decomposition, making visual identification impossible. Police plan to determine the identity and cause of death through forensic examinations.

A police official stated, "Given the current condition of the body, we believe the possibility of foul play is not high."

The location where Jang's body was found is about 1 kilometer away—roughly a 10-minute walk—from the place she left her long-term accommodation around 10:15 p.m. on May 12.


Jang's boyfriend reported her missing to the Jeju Western Police Station around 6:43 p.m. on May 15.

Immediately upon receiving the report, police tracked Jang's mobile phone and found that she had subsequently moved toward Hanrim Port.

However, Police Officer A, who received Jang's missing person report, called Jang's boyfriend—the reporter—and said, "We made contact with Jang and she is safe," adding, "However, Jang asked that her location not be disclosed to her boyfriend and others."

Furthermore, about two hours and 30 minutes after the report at around 9:16 p.m. on May 15, Officer A closed the case and subsequently deleted the management list data related to Jang from the "missing person profiling" system on the same day.

Police are investigating the possibility that the deletion of the missing person profiling management list meant entering "unidentified dead body," indicating that Jang had died.

Due to Officer A's closure of the case, police officers from the Hanrim Police Substation who had been dispatched to Hanrim Port and searched the area following the 112 report were all withdrawn, bringing all search operations to a halt.

When Jang could still not be reached, her boyfriend attempted to file a report again on July 17, but Officer A's note stating "do not tell the boyfriend her contact information" remained, preventing the report from being accepted.

Subsequently, Jang's family filed a re-report in Seoul on July 19, prompting the resumption of the search.

Police have been searching around Hanrim Port, presumed to be her last location, since the beginning of this month, but failed to find Jang.


It was revealed that Officer A also falsely closed the case of a man in his 60s who was reported missing on the 2nd, in addition to Jang's case.

For this case as well, Officer A followed a pattern similar to Jang's case, telling the reporting family, "We made contact with the missing man in his 60s, but he said 'he does not want to meet police officers and asked not to disclose his location to his family,'" before closing the case.

After Jang's case was reported in the media, the family of the man in his 60s re-reported it to the police on the 21st, and the missing man was found dead the next day, the 22nd.

Police emergency-arrested Officer A, are investigating the detailed motives, and applied for an arrest warrant today.

Police are also investigating whether there are any other cases falsely closed by Officer A.
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)