Over 90% of Unsolved Missing Person Cases Since 2022 Involved Adults, NPA Data Shows
Quick Look
- National Police Agency data reveals 92.4% of 1,727 unsolved missing person cases from 2022 to July involved adults, sparking public scrutiny after the death of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman found dead 400 meters from her home.
- Lawmaker Lim Ho-seon calls for legal framework to issue alerts for adults under imminent threat, noting the current system only covers children and vulnerable groups with 99.6% success rate.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
South Korea's missing person alert system currently applies only to children, people with mental disorders, dementia, and certain disabilities, using nationwide alerts, location tracking, and DNA testing. Adults without special needs are excluded from this system.
Over 90 percent of all missing person cases that went unsolved since 2022 involved adults, according to a National Police Agency data released Sunday, as disappearance and death of a Jeju woman brought the country's system under public scrutiny.
There were 1,727 unsolved missing person cases from 2022 to July, this year, according to the NPA data revealed by Rep. Lim Ho-seon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Of those, 1,596 were adults without special needs.
South Korea sends out nationwide alerts and uses location tracking, DNA testing for children, people with mental disorders and those with certain disabilities, including dementia, but the system does not apply to other adults.
This was brought to light in the recent disappearance and death of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman who went missing in May and was found dead on Aug. 24. Her case was closed by a police officer surnamed Bu, who was found to have improperly closed another missing person case for a man in his 60s.
The 60-something victim was also found dead last month. Bu told police that he closed the cases because of an excessive workload.
Jang's death sparked a nationwide furor, particularly after it was revealed that she died just 400 meters away from where she lived.
Lim argued that emergency alerts played a crucial role in solving missing person cases. The alert was issued for 11,881 children and people with mental disorders, dementia or other disabilities since 2022, and 99.6 percent of them were found.
In Jang's case, the nationwide alert was issued only when the police registered her as having a mental illness, even though her hospital records show she was never treated for the depression she supposedly had.
"An overwhelming majority of the unsolved missing people are adults, yet there are no legal grounds to issue alerts for them," Lim said.
"We need a legal framework and standards to promptly notify alerts in missing adult cases, when the person is thought to be under imminent threat such as being subject to crime or posing suicide risk."
What to Watch
AI outlook โ possibilities, not facts
Legislative proposals will be introduced to expand missing person alert systems to cover adults under imminent threat
Likely ยท Within months
Open Questions
- What specific criteria will define 'imminent threat' for adult missing person alerts?
- How will the proposed legal framework address police workload issues?
- What resources are needed to expand the alert system to cover adults?
