South Korean police officer admits closing missing-person cases on Jeju

An officer of the Jeju Metropolitan Police Agency has been found to have fabricated reports that he had contacted families of missing persons and subsequently closed their cases on the island’s holiday resort. An internal audit conducted by the agency revealed that the officer’s entries in case files were not corroborated by any communication logs, and several families confirmed they had never received any contact from law enforcement regarding their relatives’ disappearances.

The investigation, launched after complaints from affected families and a review of the officer’s performance records, concluded that the cases were prematurely marked as resolved without proper verification. The police department has placed the officer on administrative leave pending disciplinary action and has pledged to reopen the affected investigations, ensuring that all missing‑person inquiries are handled in accordance with standard procedures.