In a shocking breach of duty, a South Korean police officer on Jeju Island has been arrested for falsifying over two dozen missing persons cases to lighten his professional workload. Investigators revealed that the officer, identified only by his surname Bu, falsely closed 25 investigations by either deleting records or claiming the individuals had been located. Among his most egregious failures was the case of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran; despite her boyfriend reporting her missing, Bu lied to her family, claiming he had spoken to her and she wished to remain hidden. Her remains were eventually discovered in August, months after the initial report, sparking a national outcry that prompted the country’s leadership to demand a thorough investigation and systemic police reform.

The Jeju Police Agency confirmed that Bu’s motive was rooted in chronic exhaustion and a desire to evade the pressures of his increasing responsibilities. Following the discovery of four bodies in August, including Jang’s, authorities launched an internal audit of roughly 300 cases Bu handled over the last 16 months. While investigators noted that the other 25 individuals Bu falsely closed were fortunately found safe, the deception surrounding Jang’s death—which Bu had initially mislabeled as a traffic accident—has severely undermined public trust. Because the state of her remains had significantly deteriorated, officials are now unable to determine her true cause of death, leaving a grieving family without closure and the police force under intense scrutiny.