What legal change is the National Police Agency seeking for missing adults?

The agency wants legal grounds that would let police confirm or track the locations and data of adults reported missing. The goal is to give investigators powers similar to the current system used for missing children.

Why are police unable to track missing adults now?

Investigators are currently restricted from tracking the locations of mobile devices of missing adults unless there are signs that a crime is involved. That limitation forces police to assume the person may have simply left home.

How did the Jeju missing woman case affect police policy changes?

Public outcry over the Jeju case pushed authorities to review missing person handling. A police officer had closed the case soon after the woman was reported missing in May without confirming her safety, and her body was found last week after an intensive search.

Police to push for legal grounds to track locations of missing adults

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Summary

Police will seek legal grounds to track the locations of missing adults in response to a recent high-profile missing person case, officials said Friday. The National Police Agency plans to let investigators confirm or track data on missing adults, similar to the system used for missing children. The agency also plans to create a dedicated organization to oversee missing person cases. The move follows public anger over a Jeju case in which a police officer closed the case after the woman was first reported missing in May without confirming her safety.

Key Facts

The National Police Agency said it will push to establish provisions allowing police to confirm or track data on missing adults.
Police investigators are currently barred from tracking the locations of mobile devices belonging to adults reported missing unless there are signs of a crime.
The agency also plans to create a dedicated organization to oversee missing person cases.
The Jeju case involved a woman who was first reported missing in May, and a police officer closed the case shortly afterward without confirming her safety.
Her body was found last week after an intensive police search.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 4, 2026 5:07 pm KST

Kim Jong-chul, center, acting head of the National Police Agency, visits a cordoned-off site, where the body of a missing woman was found, on Jeju Island, Thursday. Yonhap

Police will seek to introduce legal grounds to track the locations of adults reported missing as part of follow-up measures to a recent high-profile missing person case, officials said Friday.

The National Police Agency said it will push to establish such provisions so that they will be able to confirm or track the data of missing adults, akin to the current system used to find missing children.

Police investigators are currently restricted from tracking the locations of mobile devices of adults reported missing unless there are signs of a crime involved, forcing the police to presume that those missing may have simply left their homes.

The agency said it also plans to strengthen management of missing person cases by establishing a dedicated organization to oversee such cases.

The move comes amid growing calls to improve police handling of missing person cases following public outcry over a missing woman case on the southern resort island of Jeju.

A police officer was found to have closed the case shortly after the woman was first reported missing in May without confirming her safety. Her body was found last week after an intensive police search.

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