PM orders police to look into handling of all missing person cases
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook attends a meeting of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook ordered the National Police Agency on Monday to look thoroughly into the handling of all missing person cases and take stern measures if any mishandling is confirmed, following revelations that an officer closed cases without confirming the safety of those missing.
Han also ordered the police agency to identify any loopholes and overhaul the way police handle such cases, including separating the right to investigate cases from the right to close them, so as to ensure the fairness of investigations to regain public trust, according to her office.
The order came after revelations that a police officer on the southern island of Jeju closed a missing person case without confirming the woman's safety. The body of Jang Mi-ran, 37, was found earlier Monday, more than three months after she was initially reported missing by her family.
The now-arrested officer was found to have closed another missing person case prematurely, and the man's body has been found.