Prank calls, abusive posts target family of missing Jeju woman as police vow crackdown

The family of Jang Mi-ran, 37, who went missing on Jeju Island, is facing a wave of secondary harassment — including prank calls to a phone number the family made public to solicit tips. Police say they will respond with strict enforcement of the law.

The Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters said Friday that prank calls had been confirmed to a number the family posted on social media to receive tips on her whereabouts. The agency also said it had identified posts on online communities spreading unverified claims about the missing woman, as well as content mocking and denigrating her.

An agency official said the behavior constitutes serious secondary harm that inflicts further psychological suffering on the family. "Prank calls and online posts that amount to secondary harassment may violate relevant laws, including those on insult, defamation and stalking," the official said.

The official added that the agency's Secondary Harm Crimes Investigation Division has stepped up monitoring of related posts. Content found to be unlawful will be removed and blocked, and the agency will pursue strict legal action, the official said.

As the disappearance drags on, scrutiny has grown over whether police improperly closed the case at the outset. Officer A, a junior detective at the Jeju Western Police Station who received the initial missing-person report in May, allegedly told the family he had made contact with Jang and then closed the case.

A review of Jang's mobile phone call records, however, found no calls — including to or from police — after the time she is believed to have gone missing.

The circumstances of the alleged false closure came to light last month when Jang's family filed a new missing-person report. Police, belatedly recognizing the case as a long-term disappearance, launched an intensive search. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency has since booked Officer A on charges of dereliction of duty and opened an investigation.