South Korea's police will consolidate missing-persons duties under the Criminal Investigation Bureau, bringing together search and investigation work the bureau currently handles and the related systems and policy work now managed by the Public Safety and Traffic Bureau. Dedicated investigative units for long-term missing-persons cases will be set up at the National Office of Investigation and at metropolitan and provincial police agencies, and local police stations will be staffed with at least two officers for missing-persons duty at night and on weekends.
Kim Jong-chul, acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing at the agency's headquarters in Seoul's Seodaemun district on the morning of Sept. 14 that missing-persons work would be unified under the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Everything from missing-persons policy to search and investigation work, previously divided between the Women and Juveniles Division and criminal units, will be reorganized around the bureau.
"The policy side was handled by the Women and Juveniles Division while searches and investigations were handled by criminal units, so even though they were within the same agency, it was hard to say there were no barriers between them," Kim said. "We reflect on whether there were limits to the consistency of our work and to mounting a coherent response."
The investigative framework for long-term missing-persons cases will also be strengthened. "To improve the thoroughness of missing-persons investigations, we plan to set up and operate dedicated units at the National Office of Investigation and at the metropolitan and provincial agency level that will exclusively investigate long-term missing-persons cases," Kim said.
Staffing for missing-persons duty at local stations will be expanded as well. "At local stations, we believe there should be no single-officer shifts at least at night or on weekends, so we plan to add personnel so that there are two or more," he said.
Police also plan to establish a legal basis allowing rapid location checks and similar measures when an adult who has gone missing faces an urgent threat to their life or safety. "As with children under 18, we are pushing for legislation on missing adults so that location tracking and card use records can be accessed without a warrant when a missing person's life or safety is in urgent danger," Kim said.
Because access to location data and financial information would be expanded, police also plan to put safeguards in place against misuse, including invasions of privacy. "If it is misused, we cannot help but worry about the problems that would follow," Kim said. "We will put sufficient safeguards in place, such as criminal punishment for use beyond the intended purpose."
