A police officer in Jeju, South Korea, surnamed Bu or referred to as A警长, was arrested and sent to prosecutors on September 1, 2026, for falsely closing 298 missing person cases from March 10, 2025, to July 23, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The officer admitted to fabricating contact with missing individuals and prematurely closing cases, including two where the individuals were later found dead [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Among them was a woman in her 30s, Jang Mi-ran or Zhang, reported missing in May 2026 and later declared dead in a traffic accident after the officer falsely claimed to have contacted her [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Another case involved a man in his 60s, whose status was falsely updated to "confirmed location" and his case closed in July 2026 [2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Police identified 25 additional missing person cases beyond the initial two suspected of false closure or record falsification by the same officer [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The falsified closures accounted for about 11% of all missing persons reports in Jeju during that period [1]. The officer also deleted missing persons' data from the police management system upon false case closure [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
The officer explained he falsely closed the cases because he felt burdened by the heavy workload and believed the missing persons were ordinary adults not requiring ongoing investigation. "Bu said he had been complacent because the missing people were ordinary adults and that he falsely closed the cases because he felt burdened by the work involved in handling cases that remained open," a Jeju police official said [1]. Officer A himself stated, "Because the missing persons were ordinary adults, I was complacent, and because open cases required many tasks and handovers, I falsely closed them [4]."
Five police profilers and psychologists who interviewed the officer concluded his criminal behavior arose from accumulated work fatigue and stress leading to neglect and an avoidant attitude. A police criminal profiler said, "The main background of A警长's crime was the motivation to neglect duties under accumulated workload and increasing responsibility fatigue." A police psychologist added, "A's crime was mainly due to long-term accumulated pressure and excessive responsibility, resulting in serious occupational burnout and work laziness," citing the burden of ongoing tracking and administrative work that led him to falsify official records [3, 7].
The officer faces charges including falsifying and using official electronic records, obstructing duties through fraud, and dereliction of duty [1, 2, 6, 7]. The case has triggered a comprehensive review of missing persons management and police internal supervision in Jeju [6].
On August 22 and 24, 2026, the bodies of a missing man and the woman suspected to have been falsely declared contacted by the officer were found in Jeju [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The officer’s arrest and the police briefing on September 1 represent the latest developments in the investigation [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
