A police officer charged with falsely closing the missing-person case of Jang Mi-ran in Jeju in May has admitted during questioning that he closed the case without ever speaking to Jang after the report was filed.
Assistant Inspector Boo told investigators during questioning the previous night that his earlier statements about having spoken with Jang were a lie, admitting to part of the allegations, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency said on the 28th. Boo had maintained that he contacted Jang when the missing-person report was received.
During questioning, police presented telecom records showing no record of any call between Jang and Boo. Boo admitted to part of the allegations only after investigators also showed him an autopsy report indicating that Jang is presumed to have died in the early hours of May 12 or 13, before the initial report was filed.
Police plan to determine Boo's motive and the circumstances of the alleged offense using profilers and forensic analysis. They plan to refer the case to prosecutors next week.
Boo is suspected of having received a missing-person report from Jang's boyfriend while on night duty on May 15, then closing the case about two and a half hours later by reporting that he had reached Jang but that she did not want her location disclosed. Investigators found that Boo also removed Jang's case from the police missing-person profiling system the same day.
The Jeju Provincial Police Agency found Jang's body at a palm tree farm in Suwon-ri around 10:46 a.m. on the 24th during a joint search of the Hallim-eup area of Jeju City.
