Police Can’t Determine Cause of Death for Missing Woman Found on Jeju Island

A missing woman's body was discovered decomposed on Jeju Island, leaving the exact cause of death unknown, according to a senior police official. The victim, who has not been named, was found last Monday at a palm tree farm close to an accommodation where she had previously stayed. Her case had been closed months earlier by her boyfriend in May, but police misconduct came to light, with the officer allegedly lying to him about confirming her safety and whereabouts.

Hong Seok-ki, head of the National Office of Investigation, stated that they are currently investigating all potential scenarios, as decomposition has made it impossible to determine the cause of death. The police have been criticized for their response, with Hong expressing a heavy sense of responsibility. In response to the incident, the police have initiated a review of approximately 310,000 missing person cases closed over the past three years, examining around 15,100 cases thus far without finding any significant issues.

The officer responsible for closing Jang's case has been found to have closed over 290 additional missing person cases while working at the Jeju Seobu Police Station's missing person team between March 2025 and July this year. He was found to have either deleted or failed to record 63 of these cases in the police missing person profiling system, leading to his arrest last week on allegations of misconduct.