[Anchor]

Police investigating the false closure case of a missing person in Jeju have announced that the cause of death for a man surnamed Chang, who was found dead, remains unconfirmed. Criticism is mounting over remarks made by the police chief a week ago, immediately after the body was found, when he stated in parliament that the death was effectively a suicide.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the details.

[Reporter]

About five hours after the body of the missing man surnamed Chang was found in a palm tree plantation in Jeju on the morning of the 24th, acting National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoo Jae-sung appeared in parliament and stated that the possibility of homicide was low, saying:

[Yoo Jae-sung / Acting National Police Agency Commissioner General (on the 24th): Based on what I was briefed by the chief of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, it is presumed to be a death by hanging. (So you mean there are no signs to suspect homicide?) Yes, that is the case so far.]

This explanation was based on the absence of major external trauma, as well as the posture and location of the body, suggesting a high likelihood of suicide.

However, criticisms followed as the police chief had hastily judged the cause of death on the very day the body was discovered, especially given that the body was in a heavily decomposed state. Controversies continued as suspicions were raised over whether it was even physically possible to hang oneself given the characteristics of palm tree trunks.

Consequently, police even conducted a reenactment experiment at the plantation on the 27th. However, remarks made by police leadership yesterday (the 31st) only fueled the controversy.

During a press briefing, National Office of Investigation Head Hong Seok-gi stated, based on the National Forensic Service autopsy results, that "the cause of death is unclear due to decomposition of the body" and that "we are investigating while keeping all possibilities open."

As media reports poured out questioning whether the police had changed their stance on the cause of death within a week, the police issued a re-clarification, stating that they had only mentioned the factual portions of the official autopsy results while excluding the parts about possibilities, and that it was not a reversal of stance.

Critics point out that the police have brought this awkward situation upon themselves as the inability to pinpoint the cause of death due to body decomposition has brought the police chief's remarks from a week ago back under scrutiny.

(Video Editing: Park Na-young, Design: Lee Ga-jin)