‘장미란씨 주검’ 숙소서 불과 400m...수사·수색 늦어져 사망 단서 사라져

The recent case of a 60-year-old man reported missing in Jeju has led to the search of a 30-year-old woman as well, prompting widespread criticism of the police's handling of the situations. The head of the Jeju Police Department has come under scrutiny for "self-conclusion" and subsequent investigations and searches of the missing individuals.

On May 16th, Jeju's maritime police, military, and civilians, along with Jeju City's Hanlim Village, launched a joint search in the area where the 37-year-old woman was found. This was the third day of coordinated searching. The missing woman's mobile phone was found in a cornfield, just 400 meters away from the pension where she had stayed with her male acquaintance.

Police sources stated that "the suspect's position and location suggest a low likelihood of criminal involvement." The manfriend reported the disappearance on May 15th, but the case was closed after 2 hours and 33 minutes. During this time, the woman's phone location tracking was not used to locate her. Her family made a second report on July 19th, but the search efforts were still inadequate.

A sister of the missing woman sought assistance at Seoul's Nowon Police Station, and the case was forwarded to Jeju's Police Department. During this process, the reporter received statements from the reporting relative, including "she is an adult, so it's not just a disappearance" and "if it's bad news, it would have been found by now."

The Nowon Police Station officials acknowledged that they asked these questions because the case was already considered closed and the victim's whereabouts were unknown. The family reported the disappearance of the woman after posting her real name and photo. On July 19th, the police issued a disappearance warning message and began searching from the next day.

However, by the time the search reached Jeju's Nowon Port, about 1.5 km away from the woman's residence, most of the evidence had disappeared. The head of Jeju's Legislative Council inquired about how the police allowed such a situation to persist, given that the investigation had already taken six months. The police responded by stating that the search location was within the range of Jeju's communication tower.

The head of the police department also came under criticism for mishandling the 60-year-old man's case. The man's family reported him missing on February 2nd, but the police closed the case within five hours by claiming he was safe. After that, the family visited the police station twice, but the investigation and search continued without their involvement.

The family reported the case again on July 21st, and only then did the search for the woman begin. Less than two days after finding the two missing persons, the police were finally able to recover the missing woman's phone. The family of the missing person expressed their anger at the Jeju District Court's provisional release hearing, stating that the police had not provided sufficient assistance despite believing in their word.

The police chief revealed that he had handled 298 cases of mishandled disappearances during his tenure. Additionally, another woman's missing person search was conducted earlier in Jeju City's Jochun-eup and today in Jeju City's Aewol-eup, but these cases were not under the jurisdiction of the head of the police department.