[Anchor]

A body presumed to be that of Jang Mi-ran, who was reported missing in Jeju last May and whose whereabouts remained unknown after police falsely closed the case, has been found. An arrest warrant has been requested for a police officer suspected of falsely closing the case involving Jang, as well as another missing person report.

For our first story, 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 discovered.

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

Police plan to conduct detailed forensic examinations to verify the exact identity and cause of death once recovery operations at the scene are completed.

An arrest warrant has been requested for Police Officer A, who was emergency-arrested on charges of successively and falsely closing missing person reports for both 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 suspected of arbitrarily closing the missing person case for Jang Mi-ran last May without verifying whether she was alive or dead.

Officer A is also accused of falsely closing a missing person report for a man in his 60s last month by processing it as if contact had been made.

It was found that Officer A deleted their data from the management list of the missing persons profiling system and told the reporters, "We have made contact with the missing person, and the missing person does not want their location to be known."

With the body of the missing man in his 60s discovered the day before yesterday and the body presumed to be Jang found today, criticisms have emerged exposing institutional shortcomings surrounding the police's handling of missing person cases.

In relation to this, the court today ruled in a review of the legality of the emergency arrest requested by Officer A that the requirements for urgency under the Criminal Procedure Act were not met.

Due to the court's decision to grant the review of the legality of the arrest, Officer A is scheduled to await the court's decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant while released.

[Video Editing: Park Ji-in]