Jeju police officer referred to prosecution for falsifying missing persons records

A police officer at the Jeju West Police Station has been referred to the prosecution for falsifying records related to missing persons. An investigation revealed that the officer, identified as Officer A, handled 298 missing person reports between March last year and July this year.

Out of these cases, 63 records were either deleted or not entered into the profiling system. This includes 141 reports involving individuals protected under the Missing Children Act, such as children, people with intellectual or mental disabilities, and dementia patients. Specifically, 15 cases were found to have been falsely recorded as deaths to remove them from the management list, while 10 other cases were closed without verifying the whereabouts of the individuals. While the locations of the 25 specifically identified suspicious cases have since been confirmed, the officer faces charges of dereliction of duty and forgery of public electronic records.

In response to the scandal, the family of one deceased individual is considering a state compensation claim, investigating whether the officer's failure to properly respond to the missing person report contributed to the death. The family and their legal representatives plan to hold a press conference to demand the officer's dismissal.