A police officer in Jeju, who initially reported a missing person case involving 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, has admitted during an investigation that he did not communicate with her after the report was filed. This revelation comes as part of an ongoing inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Jang's disappearance and subsequent death.
According to reports from Yonhap News and the Jeju Police Agency, the officer, identified as A, had previously maintained that he had been in contact with Jang while concluding the missing person case. However, during questioning the night before, he acknowledged some of the allegations against him.
A reportedly stated, "My claim of having spoken with Jang was a lie." This admission followed the police presenting evidence from a telecommunications inquiry showing no record of calls between the officer and Jang, along with autopsy results suggesting she likely died in the early hours of May 12-13, prior to the initial report.
The police indicated that they would continue to investigate the motive and circumstances of the case through profiling and forensic analysis. They plan to transfer Officer A to the prosecution next week and hold an official briefing to disclose the findings regarding the motive and circumstances of the incident.
On May 15, after receiving the missing person report regarding Jang, Officer A informed the reporter that he had made contact with her, subsequently closing the case and unlawfully deleting related information from the missing person profiling system.
Meanwhile, Jang was found dead on August 24, just 400 meters from her accommodation, 104 days after she left the lodging where she had been staying.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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