As a series of incidents involving police officers falsely closing missing persons reports occurred in Jeju, growing attention is being paid to the community safety net designed to identify residents facing social isolation, such as households at risk of lonely deaths, and verify their safety.

In particular, with single-person households in the Jeju region approaching 100,000, the role of administrative authorities in detecting signs of crisis early and directly checking safety when contact is lost has become increasingly crucial.

The false closure of missing persons reports demonstrated that even normal systems can fail to function properly if the personnel responsible for verifying and reporting safety do not fulfill their duties.

Police Officer A of the Jeju Seobu Police Station was sent to the prosecution under detention on charges including falsely closing missing persons reports for a woman in her 30s named Chang in May and a man in his 60s in July.

Officer A stated work-related pressure as the reason for the offense, and a comprehensive police inspection additionally revealed other missing persons reports that had been closed without checking the individuals' locations.

As such, even when systems exist to verify the safety of individuals in crisis, it ultimately falls upon individuals in the field to check and make judgments.

In Jeju, as a series of cases emerged where residents living alone were found dead years after their passing, the issue of early identification of households at risk of lonely death and safety verification has been continuously raised.

In April 2024, at a closed motel in Yongdam-dong, Jeju City, a man in his 70s living alone was found in a skeletal state approximately two years and six months after his death.

The man, a basic livelihood security recipient with limited mobility, had not been classified as being at high risk for a lonely death.

Welfare officials visited the residence multiple times but failed to check inside the bathroom where the man had died, thus missing the fact of his death.

Just four months later in August of the same year, another man in his 70s was found in a skeletal state about five years after his death at a closed inn in Ora-dong, Jeju City.

This man was also a recipient of basic livelihood security living alone. After losing contact, welfare benefit payments were suspended in August 2020, but the fact of his death went unverified for a long period afterward.

The death was belatedly confirmed when a welfare official identified him as a household in crisis and opened a locked door.

Currently, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province operates a separate response system to locate residents at risk of lonely deaths or social isolation.

As of the end of last year, single-person households in the Jeju region totaled 96,391, and the number of lonely death-risk groups managed by the provincial government stood at 1,518.

Among them, 68 are in the high-risk group, 461 in the medium-risk group, and 989 in the low-risk group.

The provincial government conducts linked investigation surveys four times a year through the lonely death crisis response system to identify subjects based on signs of crisis, such as utility cutoffs (electricity and water), health insurance premium arrears, and alcohol-related disorders.

Separately, surveys on persons at risk of lonely death are conducted twice a year in the first and second halves, and households that cannot be reached are revisited at least twice on different days of the week and times.

If the death of a managed subject is suspected due to a sudden loss of contact, the Customized Welfare Team of the township, neighborhood, or district office immediately dispatches to the scene.

If the door does not open, they report to 112 or 119 to receive assistance from the police and fire departments.

There are also cases where crisis situations were identified through such response systems.

In September of last year, after the Customized Welfare Team failed to verify the safety of a man in his 50s living alone despite two visits, they opened the door together with the police and fire departments and discovered the deceased man.

In February of this year, when contact was lost with a man in his 60s living alone managed by the city, officials entered the home with the police and fire departments, found the man in an emergency situation, and transferred him to a hospital.

In effect, procedures such as revisiting households during communication cutoffs and mobilizing police and fire departments in crisis situations are operating in actual fields.

However, the police false closure of missing persons reports showed that a safety net operates only when verification and reporting by field personnel are properly executed, even if systems are in place.

When asked during a recent briefing on Jeju-type comprehensive safety measures whether dual-inspection plans are under review to prevent false verifications in areas involving administrative intervention such as lonely deaths, Jeju Governor Wi Sung-gon responded, "We will look into those aspects once more."

Alongside procedures to locate residents with whom contact has been lost, ensuring proper safety verification and reporting in the field remains a task left behind by this incident.