99% of adult missing person cases closed within month: data

Jang Mi-ran incident sparks concern other cases may have been closed on false claims

National Police Agency data showed Monday that 99 percent of missing-person cases involving adults are closed within 30 days, as the recent disappearance and death of a woman on Jeju Island touched off concerns over how such cases are handled by police.

Over 70,000 cases of missing adults were filed to with police each year from 2022 to 2024, with 41,894 cases filed from January to July this year, according to the NPA data submitted to Rep. Chung Choon-saeng of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party.

Chung’s report showed that of 70,814 such cases last year, 48.1 percent were closed within an hour, 64.9 percent within three hours, 75.2 percent within six hours and 82.9 percent within 12 hours. By three days into the investigation, 95.1 percent were closed. The rate rose to 97.1 percent by the end of the first week.

Only 1 percent of cases remained open after the initial 30 days.

The speedy rate of police closing cases of missing adults now has some among the public questioning whether the cases were treated in accordance with proper procedures, particularly in light of the allegation that an officer surnamed Bu falsely claimed to have spoken with Jang Mi-ran. Jang’s case was closed within hours of her boyfriend filing a report on May 13. Bu is accused of lying about speaking with Jang via phone.

In the public scrutiny that has followed, multiple police agencies across South Korea began conducting reviews of closed missing-person cases Monday.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said it is launching an inspection into 25,376 missing-person cases closed between January 2024 and July this year. This was in response to the National Police Agency instructing a review of such cases after the Jeju case sparked nationwide furor.

Police in Seoul, Daegu, Gyeonggi Province and North Jeolla Province were among those reported to be reviewing missing-person cases covering the same three-year span, from January 2024.

The reviews are to ensure that the cases were closed in accordance with proper procedures, as it was found that Bu had violated protocol when he closed Jang’s case. He claimed to have talked to the missing woman and confirmed her safety, but police protocol dictates that an officer must meet face-to-face with the person reported as missing.

Bu concluded 298 missing-person cases dating to March 2025, all of which are now under review as part of the criminal investigation against him.