Key facts
- South Korean police will re-examine 310,000 missing persons cases closed in the last three years.
- The review is prompted by a scandal where an officer allegedly falsified records to close cases of two individuals later found dead.
- President Lee Jae Myung has ordered an investigation into the police's handling of the scandal and a reform plan.
- The Interior Minister apologized, citing structural flaws in the police's missing persons procedures.
- Under current law, only specific vulnerable groups are formally treated as missing, with others classified as runaways.
South Korea is set to re-examine approximately 310,000 missing persons cases that were closed over the past three years, following a scandal involving a police officer accused of falsifying records. The officer allegedly closed cases without confirming the safety of the individuals, leading to the discovery of two bodies. President Lee Jae Myung has ordered an investigation into the police's handling of the matter and directed the force to develop a reform plan.
The scandal has exposed what the Interior Minister called a structural flaw in how police manage missing persons. Currently, only children, individuals with dementia or mental disabilities, and autistic people are formally treated as missing, granting police enhanced search powers. Other adults are classified as runaways, limiting access to tools like location data and emergency alerts.
The arrested officer, who worked on the missing persons team at Jeju Western police station, is accused of closing the file on a 37-year-old woman, Jang Mi-ran, shortly after she was reported missing. Her body was found 104 days later. He is also accused of improperly closing the case of a man in his 60s, whose body was found shortly after. The officer denies wrongdoing, claiming he contacted the individuals before closing the cases. The review of all cases handled by the officer is due by November.
This incident occurs amid broader planned reforms of South Korea's justice system, which aim to shift more investigative power from prosecutors to the police. Critics of extending police search powers to all missing adults argue that adults should have the right to disappear and that such powers could be misused.