Missing persons listed as dead were actually alive: Jeju officer suspected in 25 more false case closures

An additional 25 suspected cases of falsely closed or falsely cleared missing persons reports have been found among cases previously handled by a Jeju police officer already under investigation for similar conduct. Police said they will convert the new cases into a formal investigation and expand the scope of their probe.

At a briefing Tuesday at the Jeju Provincial Police Agency marking the transfer of Officer Bu (34) to prosecutors, investigation division chief Jung Tae-woon said police had reviewed all 298 missing persons cases Bu closed while assigned to the missing persons unit and identified 25 additional suspected cases. Bu was transferred to prosecutors that day under detention on charges of falsifying and using falsified official electronic records, obstructing official duties through deception, and dereliction of duty.

Of the 25 newly identified cases, 10 involved closing a case as resolved without directly confirming the missing person's safety — the same pattern seen in the cases of Jang Mi-ran, 37, and a man in his 60s, both of whom went missing on Jeju Island.

The remaining 15 cases involved confirming the whereabouts or safety of the missing person but entering a false reason — such as "traffic accident" or "suspicious death" — instead of "located" when closing the case. Police said all 25 individuals have been confirmed safe.

The 25 additional suspected cases will be referred to the anti-corruption investigation unit for a formal probe. Police also confirmed that Bu had assisted with missing persons work before being officially assigned to the unit, and said they would expand the investigation to cover cases he handled during that earlier period. "We plan to request an investigation into the newly identified cases to establish the facts," Jung said. "We will also conduct additional checks on cases he handled while providing support before his formal assignment to the missing persons unit."

Tuesday's briefing also shed more light on why Bu falsely closed the cases. Bu told investigators that he considered missing adults to pose a lower risk than missing elderly dementia patients or children. In the case of the man in his 60s, police found that Bu had dismissed the situation with a "he'll come back" attitude even though there were signs the man was at risk of suicide.

Based on criminal psychological analysis, police believe Bu's avoidant personality and the pressure of working alone on night shifts contributed to his conduct. However, they noted that handing a case to the next officer on duty would not have created any additional workload. "We can only speculate as to why the suspect perceived it as a burden," Jung said, adding that no evidence of personal animosity toward specific individuals or financial motives had been found.

Investigators also determined why Bu handled the records in the Jang Mi-ran case and the man-in-his-60s case differently. Bu told investigators he deleted Jang's record from the missing persons profiling system — logging "death by traffic accident" as the reason — because he feared the false closure would be discovered. In the man's case, however, another officer already knew a report had been filed, so Bu concluded that deleting the record would expose the false handling. He therefore left a record showing the case had been closed as "located."

Meanwhile, the exact cause of Jang's death has yet to be determined. Police are working to reconstruct her movements after she went missing and the circumstances of her death through forensic analysis of her mobile phone and scene reconstruction. "We cannot determine the cause of death at this point," Jung said. "We are investigating with all possibilities open."