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South Korean authorities have recovered four bodies on Jeju island since Saturday as a scandal over the premature closure of missing persons cases has widened with the arrest of a police sergeant accused of misleading families and falsifying records. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency identified one as 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran who disappeared in May and whose remains were located at a palm tree farm roughly 500 metres from her lodging. A man in his 60s reported missing on June 28 was found the following day while two additional bodies turned up in coastal areas according to multiple agency statements. The sergeant surnamed Bu who handled the initial reports on Jang and the man is under investigation for dereliction of duty and falsifying official records after no evidence emerged of the claimed contacts with the missing individuals.
Jeju Provincial Police Agency officials placed four commanders in the sergeant’s chain on administrative leave while launching a full inspection of the 298 missing persons cases he managed during 17 months on the unit. The man’s son told reporters that his family had trusted police assurances the father was safe only to receive his body after 51 days. Reuters reported that about 10 of the sergeant’s cases are under closer examination for similar irregularities with the National Police Agency directing broader reviews in other regions including Seoul and Busan. Police have not linked the two additional Jeju bodies directly to the sergeant but the discoveries have amplified scrutiny of how adult disappearance reports are processed nationwide.
National Police Agency figures place annual reports of missing adults at more than 70,000 in recent years with 70,814 recorded in 2025 alone. Agency data reviewed by lawmakers showed that 99.7 percent of those 2025 cases closed without full searches or investigations while 89.4 percent wrapped up inside a single day. A Korea JoongAng Daily analysis of the statistics indicated 931 adults reported missing last year were later found dead from causes unrelated to accidents or crime. Between 2016 and 2025 a total of 13,639 missing adults were discovered deceased according to compiled government tallies averaging roughly 1,364 such outcomes annually.
Lawmakers from across parties have introduced more than 10 bills during the past decade aimed at expanding legal tools for adult missing persons cases including warrantless access to CCTV DNA sampling and location tracking yet none have passed according to Korea JoongAng Daily records. A professor of police science at Konkuk University told Yonhap news agency that officers often assume quick resolutions because the absolute majority of missing adults are located rapidly which can lead to underestimating risks in atypical cases. The Korea Herald cited National Police Agency information showing that ordinary adult disappearances lack the automatic alerts DNA protocols and public notifications applied to minors or those with disabilities.
President Lee Jae-myung stated during a Tuesday cabinet meeting that recent breakdowns in police discipline and irresponsibility in public safety matters have become serious problems while questioning whether the force deserves its expanding authority. Lee directed the prime minister’s office to consult widely and propose a dedicated police reform body ahead of October legislation that will transfer remaining investigative powers from prosecutors to police according to Yonhap News Agency accounts. The national police chief admitted system faults at an emergency National Assembly hearing the previous day and senior officials issued public apologies while pledging institutional improvements.
The scandal has focused attention on Jeju which drew more than 13 million visitors last year and where violent crime remains rare even as the country contends with one of the world’s highest suicide rates. Police have acknowledged that the high volume of quickly resolved cases may have contributed to lapses in verification procedures for reports like those handled by the sergeant. Additional inspections are continuing both on Jeju and at select mainland agencies as authorities seek to identify any further instances of improper case closures.
