KB News Desk
South Korea’s interior minister on Wednesday ordered police to investigate the alleged false closure of missing person cases on Jeju Island and review how such cases are handled nationwide.
Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung issued the order during an emergency meeting with senior police officials in Seoul, saying the case exposed both individual misconduct and possible flaws in the police system for handling missing people.
“The truth of the Jeju case must be thoroughly established,” Yun said, calling for investigators to determine whether the officer involved possibly concealed problems in other cases.
Police have already begun reviewing cases handled by the officer. Yun also ordered checks of long-term missing person cases at police agencies across the country and said misconduct or improper case handling should result in disciplinary action.
He called for a broader review of the missing person profiling system used by police and other procedures, saying technical fixes alone would not be enough.
The meeting came amid growing criticism of police after the officer on Jeju Island was accused of falsely closing two missing person cases by claiming to have contacted the missing people. Both were later found dead.
Police briefed Yun on proposed changes to missing person investigations, case management and oversight of police investigations.
Yun also urged officials to move quickly on any legal or institutional changes needed, saying authorities should eliminate gaps that could allow cases to be improperly buried or shield misconduct within police.
