Jeju police officer faces possible arrest over mishandling of missing person case

On Tuesday, a Jeju police officer arrived at an arrest warrant hearing at the Jeju District Court, charged with dereliction of duty, forgery, falsifying public electronic records, and obstructing official duties through deception. The officer, whose identity has remained undisclosed, faced these accusations following his handling of a missing person case that could have resulted in the woman's death. The hearing commenced at 2:30 p.m.

The officer, accused of mishandling the case of missing woman Jang Mi-ran, closed the case in May without verifying her safety and erased her data from the police's missing persons profiling system. A body believed to be Jang's was discovered on the island on Monday. Furthermore, the officer had prematurely closed another missing person case last month; the body of a 60-year-old man, also missing, was found on Saturday.

Upon his arrival at the courthouse, the officer was seen entering without the presence of reporters or other journalists waiting at the main entrance. The officer was subsequently placed under emergency detention on Saturday but was released on Monday after a court reviewed the legality of his detention.