Although a body presumed to be that of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, who went missing in Jeju last May, has been found after 104 days, questions surrounding her death remain unanswered.

Police currently consider the possibility of homicide to be low, but due to a significant degree of decomposition, it has not yet been confirmed whether the body is indeed Jang, and the exact cause of death remains unverified.

It is also unclear when and how she died, or whether she actually passed away at the location where the body was discovered.

Furthermore, while the search was suspended due to a police officer falsely closing the case, crucial initial evidence—such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage tracking Jang's final movements—has largely disappeared.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency discovered the body, presumed to be Jang, during a joint search in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, at 10:46 a.m. today (the 24th).

The discovery site is about 1 kilometer away from the long-term accommodation that Jang last left at 10:15 p.m. on May 12.

A mobile phone, clothing, and other items were found alongside the body, and the clothing was confirmed to be identical to what Jang was wearing at the time of her disappearance.

Based on the posture and position in which the body was found, police currently assess the likelihood of foul play as low.

A police official stated, "Based on the posture and position of the body, we judge the possibility of homicide to be low," while adding, "We will continue to investigate the possibility of criminal involvement."

Ultimately, separate from the police's current assessment, prioritizing the confirmation of the exact identity, cause of death, time of death, and location of death through forensic analysis comes first.

Particularly because the body was found 104 days after Jang went missing, clarifying when she died after leaving the accommodation and whether the discovery site was her actual deathplace will likely be key to uncovering the circumstances of her death.

Earlier, questions were raised because the final communication record from Jang's mobile phone was traced to the vicinity of Hallim Port, which differed from the body's discovery site, but police explained that this was due to the coverage area of the base station.

This means the phone was not necessarily at Hallim Port itself; rather, the communication signal was picked up through the base station covering the Hallim Port area at the time.

The actual mobile phone was found together with the body.

The biggest obstacle in investigating the circumstances of her death is the prolonged gap in the investigation.

Jang's romantic partner reported her missing to the police at 6:43 p.m. on May 15, but a police officer in charge, identified as Inspector A, closed the case about 2 hours and 30 minutes later after falsely claiming that he had contacted Jang and that she was safe, without actually speaking to her.

Because of this, police officers searching the Hallim Port area were withdrawn, and Inspector A even deleted data related to Jang from the missing person profiling system.

When Jang's partner tried to file a report again on the 17th of last month, it was not accepted due to the existing record, and the search resumed only after her family filed a re-report in Seoul two days later.

In the meantime, a significant portion of nearby public CCTV footage exceeded its retention period and was deleted.

Above all, with the body presumed to be Jang found just about 1 kilometer away from her final accommodation, questions remain as to whether she could have been found much earlier had the search continued at the time of the initial report.

Apart from the police viewing the possibility of criminal harm as low, the keys to uncovering the circumstances of her death will be verifying her exact identity, cause of death, time and location of death, and how much of Jang's final movements can be reconstructed from the lost initial investigation records.

(Photo: Yonhap News)