A missing person case in Jeju has raised serious questions about police procedures and accountability, following the discovery of a 37-year-old woman, identified as Ms. Jang, who had been missing for over three months. The initial report of her disappearance on May 15th was followed by a series of events and decisions by a police officer that have now come under intense scrutiny.
Initial Report and Investigation
The Jeju Provincial Police Agency received a report on May 15th at approximately 6:43 PM concerning a woman in her 30s who had not been heard from since the evening of May 12th. The case was assigned to the Jeju West Police Station’s missing persons investigation team. The officer on duty that night, Sergeant Boo, immediately checked Ms. Jang’s mobile phone location. The last known location was near the harbor in Hallim, Jeju City.
According to data submitted by the Jeju police to the National Assembly, Sergeant Boo accessed Ms. Jang’s location information seven times between 7:08 PM and 8:55 PM on May 15th. Police officers also searched the Hallim Port area based on this information. However, approximately two and a half hours after the initial report, at 9:16 PM, the case was abruptly closed. Sergeant Boo recorded in the system that he had made contact with Ms. Jang and that the case was resolved, without directly confirming her safety in person.
Discrepancies and Delayed Reopening
The situation took a more concerning turn when Sergeant Boo later deleted Ms. Jang’s profile from the missing persons system, citing ‘traffic accident fatality’ as the reason for closure. This record contradicted the information given to the reporting party, who was told Ms. Jang had been contacted. Despite these inconsistencies, the discrepancies were not flagged internally at the time. Sergeant Boo reportedly told a male friend of Ms. Jang that she was safe and had been contacted, but did not wish to reveal her location. Investigations later revealed that Sergeant Boo had never actually spoken to Ms. Jang.
The case resurfaced two months later when Ms. Jang’s family, unable to contact her, filed a new missing person report with the Nowon Police Station in Seoul on July 19th. The case was then transferred back to the Jeju West Police Station. When questioned again, Sergeant Boo reiterated his earlier claim that contact had been made and the case was closed.
Initially, the police believed Sergeant Boo’s statement and re-searched the area near Hallim Port based on the last known phone location. In a puzzling turn of events, Sergeant Boo accessed Ms. Jang’s phone location data four more times between July 20th and 21st, seemingly attempting to track the movements of a person he had previously marked as deceased in a traffic accident. Suspicion began to mount when police obtained phone records and found no evidence of any communication between Sergeant Boo and Ms. Jang. At this point, the police began to consider the possibility that Sergeant Boo’s claim of contact was false and reclassified Ms. Jang as a long-term missing person.
Loss of Evidence and Similar Case
By the time the investigation was seriously reopened, crucial evidence had likely been lost. Ms. Jang’s phone usage and financial transactions had ceased, and most surveillance camera footage from the surrounding area had exceeded its retention period. Had the initial response been more thorough, much of this evidence could have been preserved.
Further investigation revealed another similar case handled by Sergeant Boo. On July 2nd, a report was filed concerning a man in his 60s, identified as Mr. A, who had left his home after hinting at a suicidal act. Sergeant Boo was the officer who took the report. He informed Mr. A’s family that he had contacted Mr. A, who stated he did not want his location revealed to his family and threatened to sue them if he did. Sergeant Boo entered this information into the 112 system and closed the case the same day. However, investigations later indicated that Sergeant Boo had not actually spoken to Mr. A. Mr. A was found deceased 51 days after the initial report.
Discovery of Ms. Jang’s Body and Autopsy Findings
Ms. Jang’s body was eventually discovered on August 24th, 104 days after her disappearance, in a vegetable field in Hallim-eup, Jeju City. She was found in a seated position among the plants, with a rope tied to a vegetable branch. Her body was severely decomposed, with some parts skeletonized.
Initially, police concluded that the possibility of foul play was low. Ms. Jang was still wearing the clothes and slippers she had on when she left her lodging, and her personal belongings, including her phone, bracelet, and rings, were found at the scene. Investigators stated that no signs of a struggle were found in the fallen leaves around her body, nor were there any obvious external injuries consistent with a violent attack.
However, doubts surrounding the circumstances of her death persisted. The location itself, a dense vegetable field with sharp, sturdy branches and minimal lighting at night, raised questions about how Ms. Jang could have entered the area alone in the dark, relying only on her phone’s light. Her family expressed disbelief, stating she was afraid of such places and would not have taken her own life there.
The police conducted experiments, including a re-enactment on August 27th, using similar ropes and weights to test the strength of the branches. They concluded that the branches could support a weight of 44kg, especially when the rope was tied closer to the trunk. The presence of similar rope in Ms. Jang’s lodging further fueled the investigation into whether she had taken it with her.
Despite these findings, the National Forensic Service (NFS) could not provide a definitive cause of death. While there were no clear signs of external trauma, a fracture was found in the hyoid bone in her neck. The NFS stated that while neck pressure can cause such a fracture, it is not conclusive evidence for determining whether the death was a homicide or suicide. They also noted that decomposition made it difficult to determine if the cause was strangulation or suffocation.
Conflicting Statements and Official Response
Initial statements from the police were inconsistent. On August 24th, an acting Superintendent General of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency reported to the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee that Ms. Jang’s death was presumed to be a suicide by hanging, with no suspicious circumstances found at that time. This premature conclusion drew criticism for potentially closing the case too quickly.
A week later, on August 31st, Hong Seok-ki, Deputy Director of the National Investigation Headquarters, clarified the NFS findings, stating that the cause of death was ‘unclear due to decomposition’ and that all possibilities were being investigated. This marked an official acknowledgment that the case remained open and that neither suicide nor homicide could be definitively ruled out.
The police are currently focusing on analyzing Ms. Jang’s phone data to reconstruct her movements on the day of her disappearance and her entry into the vegetable field.
Investigation into Sergeant Boo’s Motives and Systemic Failures
A primary question remains: Sergeant Boo’s motive. The structure of the missing persons team does not typically assign a single officer to handle a case from beginning to end. Instead, cases are shared, and other units may be involved. There are no special promotion points for closing many cases.
Despite this, Sergeant Boo allegedly fabricated contact details and falsified system records. While such actions usually serve a purpose—avoiding responsibility, covering up mistakes, or gaining personal benefit—no direct benefit for Sergeant Boo has been identified so far. The risks, however, were significant, as fabricating a closure could lead to the discovery of the truth later if the person reappeared or the family reported them again.
Several possibilities are being considered by the police. One is habitual case-closing: repeated success in quickly resolving missing person cases or making contact might have led to a presumption that this case would also resolve easily, prompting a hasty closure. This experience, however, could lead to an overestimation of certainty and a ‘normalization bias’. Another possibility is that Sergeant Boo was experiencing personal issues that significantly impaired his ability to perform his duties. Police are analyzing his profile and interview records to understand his psychological state.
Sergeant Boo has since reversed his initial statements, admitting that he did not actually contact Ms. Jang and partially confessing to the irregularities. The police have arrested Sergeant Boo on charges of dereliction of duty, falsification of official documents, and obstruction of justice.
The issues extend beyond Sergeant Boo. On July 22nd, after Ms. Jang’s family filed their second report, Sergeant Boo was found to have entered a women’s restroom at the Jeju West Police Station where he was stationed. This incident led to his demotion. Investigations into this incident are ongoing, with evidence found in the restroom’s ceiling.
Ironically, Sergeant Boo had received numerous commendations for his work. He received an award from the Jeju Provincial Police Agency in June for discovering a suicidal elderly person, and further awards from the Police Commissioner General in September and the Jeju Provincial Police Chief in December of the same year for quickly finding someone attempting suicide. Since 2020, he had received a total of 10 commendations.
Broader Implications and Future Reforms
The implications of this case are far-reaching, as the circumstances surrounding Ms. Jang’s death reveal potential systemic failures. In the case of Mr. A, the 60-year-old man, the closure was also based on unverified contact. In both instances, the initial investigation was halted based on a single officer’s unsubstantiated claim.
Hong Seok-ki, Deputy Director of the National Investigation Headquarters, acknowledged that the failure was not solely the responsibility of the individual officers but also of the supervisors and managers who did not adequately oversee their work. The police have announced reforms to the missing persons profiling system. Future case closures requested by the officer in charge will require supervisor approval after verification. If direct confirmation by the police is difficult, procedures will be strengthened to involve third parties, such as local government offices, fire departments, or other trusted organizations, to verify the person’s safety before closing a case.
However, in Ms. Jang’s case, the ‘golden time’ for initial investigation was lost. Crucial objective evidence, like CCTV footage, has also disappeared. The police now face the difficult task of reconstructing what happened to Ms. Jang with limited evidence. While Sergeant Boo’s actions are under investigation, the exact cause of Ms. Jang’s death remains officially undetermined, with the NFS stating the cause is unclear. The police are working to determine the sequence of events leading to her death, including why she entered the vegetable field and what transpired in her final moments.
The core of this case lies in two critical questions: First, what exactly happened to Ms. Jang leading to her death? Second, how was it possible for the investigation to be halted based solely on a single officer’s false claim, and why did no one else identify this falsehood? Unraveling Sergeant Boo’s motive is as crucial as determining the circumstances of Ms. Jang’s death.
