Jeju police are intensively investigating the motive of a sergeant arrested for allegedly falsifying a missing person case on August 23.
As he left the Jeju Eastern Police Station in the afternoon, the sergeant, identified as A, did not respond to reporters' questions about the reasons for the false conclusion and bowed his head as he entered a transport vehicle.
According to Yonhap News, a police official stated, "We are investigating the motives behind the sergeant's false conclusion of the missing person case," adding that the location of the investigation could not be disclosed.
Another police official mentioned, "We may apply for a warrant after conducting the investigation by the deadline for emergency arrest on the afternoon of the 24th."
The police plan to conduct a swift investigation and hold a media briefing next week.
On the previous afternoon, the sergeant was urgently arrested on charges of neglect of duty, falsifying public records, and obstructing official duties.
He is accused of lying to the reporter that he had made contact with Jang Mi-ran, 37, who was reported missing in May, and subsequently closing the case while deleting her information from the missing person profiling system.
Additionally, he is suspected of falsely concluding another missing person case on July 2 using a similar method.
Jang has been missing for about three months, prompting extensive search efforts, while another missing person was found dead in Jeju the previous day.
The sergeant's actions have revealed systemic shortcomings in how the police handle missing person cases.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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