It has been investigated that Police Officer A of the Jeju Seobu Police Station, who falsely handled the missing person case of Jang Mi-ran, handled a total of 298 missing person reports, including Jang's case.

Officer A worked in the missing persons team for about 1 year and 5 months until the 11th, when he was relieved of his duties.

[Ryu Jae-seong / Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency: As I have been briefed, 298 cases were handled. Through a full inspection, we will make it clearer whether there are cases like this....]

Among the approximately 70,000 missing adult reports received by the police last year, 99.7% of the cases were closed without full-scale searches.

Only 0.3% of unclosed cases remain in a missing status, raising growing doubts over whether missing persons cases have been handled properly.

[Professor Park Dong-gyun / Department of Police Administration, Daegu Haany University: There may be cases like this that actually occurred but are not caught in the (missing persons) statistics. The number is likely much larger than what is being grasped....]

Current laws regarding missing persons focus on preventing the disappearance of children under the age of 18, dementia patients, and individuals with intellectual disabilities. Critics point out that adults aged 18 and older are referred to as "runaways" who left home on their own, which may lead the police to have a complacent attitude.

[Professor Yum Gun-woong / Division of Police and Fire Administration, U1 University: Families (of missing persons) put more weight on the possibility that they disappeared due to someone else. However, the police currently begin their investigation from the opposite side of that supposition.]

The "Missing Person Profiling System," introduced in 2011, is also pointed out as problematic because the assigned police officer can close a case without approval from a superior, making it impossible for another police officer to filter out a single officer's manipulation of cases.

President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough investigation into the entire police investigation process regarding this missing person case.

[Kang Yu-jung / Senior Spokesperson of the Presidential Office: The President expressed a deeply devastated heart and regret. He ordered the preparation of self-reform measures for the police, including fundamental overhaul plans.]

In Jeju, bodies presumed to be missing persons were discovered one after another yesterday (the 24th) in a valley in Aewol-eup and off the coast of Jochon-eup, bringing the total number of missing bodies found in just two days since the 22nd to four.

The Korean National Police Agency has launched an inspection into the false closure process of the Jeju missing person case and the overall command and management.

Reported by Kwon Mingyu | Producer: Yoon Seong-shik | Video by Lee Hong-myung | Graphics: Hwang Se-yeon | Produced by SBS Digital News