What’s going on in Jeju, as president issues statement after four bodies are found in three days

Jeju Island in South Korea is at the centre of a police investigation after four people who had previously been reported missing were found dead within just three days.

Via YONHAP/EPA/Shutterstock

The deaths have attracted widespread attention because they come alongside allegations that hundreds of missing-person cases on the island were prematurely closed by police.

According to local police, the four people were discovered in different locations across Jeju over a 72-hour period, with their bodies found in trails and residential areas.

Authorities are now looking into the circumstances surrounding each death, while also investigating how missing-person reports were handled by officers.

So, what actually happened in Jeju?

The investigation centres partly around a 35-year-old police officer, identified by his surname Bu, who has been arrested over the alleged premature closure of multiple missing-person cases.

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Police are reviewing all 298 missing-person reports handled by the officer. Around 10 of those cases are currently being examined to establish whether they were improperly closed.

One of the people found dead was 37-year-old Jang Mi Ran, whose body was discovered on Monday, around 104 days after she was first reported missing.

A man in his 60s was also found dead on Saturday, more than 50 days after a missing-person report had been made to police.

A second man, who was in his 70s, was found dead by someone fishing on the island.

The fourth body was discovered near a valley in Aewol-eup, in Jeju City, on Monday.

The deaths themselves are being investigated separately, and the discoveries do not mean the four cases are necessarily connected. However, the timing of the deaths and the allegations surrounding the handling of missing-person reports have led to increased scrutiny of Jeju police.

Bu was detained on Tuesday on suspicion of dereliction of duty, falsifying official electronic records and obstructing official duties, according to Yonhap News Agency.

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Why are police being investigated?

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The allegations have raised questions about whether missing people on the island were properly searched for and whether their cases were closed before authorities had done enough to locate them.

Four senior officers at Jeju Seobu police station have since been suspended from their duties in connection with the cases.

South Korea’s National Police Agency has also launched an internal inspection to determine whether the officers responsible for supervising the cases properly did their jobs.

That means investigators are not just looking at the individual officer who has been arrested, but also at the wider chain of responsibility within the police station.

The situation has also drawn criticism from South Korean president Lee Jae Myung, who called for greater accountability from the police following the public outrage.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lee said: “The recent breakdown in police discipline and irresponsibility in public safety matters have become a serious problem.”

He also questioned whether the police force was capable of handling the level of authority it has.

“Police are likely to wield the greatest power among state institutions,” he said, adding that the public questioned whether the force could bear the responsibility.

He continued: “Responsibility must be strengthened in proportion to the size of the authority.”

For now, police are continuing to investigate the four deaths, while the review of the 298 missing-person cases is expected to shed more light on how they were handled.

The investigation is ongoing, and there is currently no indication that the four deaths are linked to one another.

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Featured image via YONHAP/EPA/Shutterstock