Four bodies have been found on Jeju since Saturday as authorities investigate allegations that police mishandled missing-persons cases
A police sergeant, surnamed Bu, is accused of prematurely closing cases and falsely telling families that missing relatives were safe
President Lee Jae Myung has ordered sweeping police reforms as the scandal raises wider questions about accountability within South Korea's powerful police force
Jeju Missing Persons Scandal: Four Bodies Found As South Korea Probes Police Failures
A police scandal has deepened on South Korea's Jeju Island after four missing people were found dead and a sergeant was accused of prematurely closing cases and misleading families about their relatives' whereabouts
Summary
Police have discovered four bodies on South Korea's Jeju Island since Saturday, sparking severe public outrage over the handling of missing persons cases. Reports emerged last week that authorities were launching a belated search for a woman reported missing months ago. This sparked criticism of the police for failing to search for her earlier, BBC reported.
Authorities arrested a police sergeant, surnamed Bu, for allegedly lying to families and prematurely closing case files. Following the arrest, the police force placed four officers in Bu's chain of command on administrative leave. The growing scandal prompted President Lee Jae Myung to order a sweeping reform of the national police force on Tuesday.
How Did The Jeju Missing Persons Scandal Begin?
Investigators recovered the body of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran on Monday. She had gone missing in May. Officers found her at a palm tree farm roughly 500 metres (547 yards) from her lodging, and she is believed to have killed herself. Bu had closed Jang's case without confirming her whereabouts. He allegedly told her boyfriend that they had spoken over the phone and she did not wish to speak to him.
A second victim surfaced at the weekend. Police located the body of a man in his 60s from Jeju City on Saturday after he went missing on 28 June. Bu had previously shut this case, reportedly telling the family the man was safe but did not wish to disclose his location.
The deceased man's son told reporters, "We believed the police when they said my father was safe and waited, but after 51 days, what returned was his body," as quoted by BBC.
Officers found two other bodies in coastal villages recently, and it is not yet clear whether Bu was involved in the missing persons cases for these two bodies. Police are now auditing nearly 300 missing persons cases handled by Bu.
Advertisement
Four Missing People Found Dead
The scandal triggered immediate political fallout. Lawmakers grilled the national police chief at an emergency National Assembly hearing on Monday. Facing intense scrutiny, he admitted that "there is a fault in the system".
President Lee addressed the crisis directly. During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he said that "the recent breakdown in police discipline and irresponsibility in public safety matters have become serious problems". Noting the immense authority of the institution, he added that "the Korean people are questioning whether [the police] deserve this large power," according to BBC.
Jeju Island is a major tourist hub. It drew over 13 million foreign and domestic visitors last year. South Korea records low violent crime rates but experiences exceptionally high suicide rates, which experts suggest leads to complacency among law enforcement regarding missing persons.
Published At: