Police to seek legal grounds to track missing adults' locations

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (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.