Police to Assign Some Detectives to Missing Persons Cases... Plans to Strengthen Initial Response Measures

On the 16th, when rain fell nationwide, participants at the "Peace Rally for the Late Son Jeong-min" held near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul urged for a thorough investigation of the incident while holding umbrellas. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police are considering measures to strengthen initial responses to missing person cases following the incident involving university student Son Jeong-min (22), who went missing at Hangang Park and was later found dead.

On the 28th, the National Police Agency announced that it is reviewing an improvement plan in which the Criminal Division will take charge of some missing person cases previously handled by the Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Division (hereafter, Women and Juvenile Division) and immediately begin investigations.

If a missing person case is judged to be related to a crime, the Criminal Division will promptly initiate an investigation equivalent to that of a serious crime. The police explained, "We are currently gathering opinions from on-site officers, and if necessary, we will proceed with pilot operations and other processes."

Missing person cases without criminal suspicion, such as simple runaway cases, will continue to be handled by the Women and Juvenile Division. It is also reported that there is ongoing discussion about transferring 'dating violence' cases, which were previously handled by the Criminal Division, to the Women and Juvenile Division.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.