South Korean cop closed missing persons cases to avoid work

A South Korean police officer, identified as Bu, has been arrested for fabricating evidence to close over two dozen missing persons cases, including those of two individuals who were subsequently discovered deceased. The arrest occurred last week, amid allegations that Bu's actions were motivated by a desire to evade additional work due to overwhelming workload pressures and fatigue resulting from increased responsibilities, according to Jeju Police Agency detective Jung Tae-woon.

Two of the missing individuals were among four bodies found over several days in August on Jeju Island, causing public outrage and prompting President Lee Jae Myung to order an investigation into the police's handling of the cases, as well as calls for necessary reforms within the police force. The officer was apprehended on Tuesday, accused of recording Jang Mi-ran's death as a traffic accident while claiming to her family that she did not wish to be found.

Bu falsely closed these cases, prioritizing work-related negligence over the truth, as stated by Detective Jung. The police were unable to determine the cause of Jang's death due to the advanced decomposition of her body, contradicting their earlier conclusion that there were no signs of foul play. Following a thorough review of approximately 300 missing persons cases handled by Bu over a 16-month period, authorities discovered that he had falsely closed an additional 25 cases without verifying the whereabouts of the missing individuals or by deleting records after declaring them dead. All 25 individuals involved in those cases were eventually found safe, according to authorities.