A popular South Korean vacation island is at the center of a growing police scandal after four missing people were discovered dead in less than a week. The cases have intensified anger over how officers on Jeju handle missing-persons reports, with one sergeant, IDed only by his surname Bu, now under arrest and accused of fabricating updates to grieving families and shutting files without verifying anyone’s safety, per the BBC. Among the dead is 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, missing since May and found on Monday at a palm tree farm a short walk from where she’d been staying; authorities believe she died by suicide.
“Bu had allegedly told Jang’s boyfriend that he had spoken to Jang over the phone and she had told Bu she did not wish to speak to her boyfriend,” the BBC notes. The same sergeant is also alleged to have told the family of a missing father in his 60s that he was alive and simply keeping his distance; his body was found on Saturday. Four officers tied to Bu have been placed on leave, and police are reexamining nearly 300 cases he handled. “We feel deeply sorry for causing concerns to the public,” acting National Police Agency chief Yoo Jae-seong said on Monday, reports the AP.
Bu was detained on Tuesday, accused of dereliction of duty, falsifying official electronic records, and obstructing official duties, per Reuters. President Lee Jae Myung has ordered broad reforms of the police force, saying a “breakdown in police discipline” has shaken public trust, just as the force gains expanded investigative powers long held by prosecutors, per the BBC.