It was found that a senior patrol officer surnamed Bu, who was arrested on charges of falsely closing two missing-person cases including that of Jang Mi-ran, received a commendation from the Korean National Police Agency commissioner for helping find another missing person.
According to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Park Su-min on the 26th, the Jeju Seobu Police Station senior patrol officer surnamed Bu, who falsely closed a missing-person case, received a commendation from the Korean National Police Agency commissioner on Jun. 26 for "merit in finding a missing older adult with dementia."
That was a little over a month after the report of Jang's disappearance on May 15 was processed as a false closure.
In addition, the senior patrol officer surnamed Bu also received a commendation from the police station chief last September for quickly locating a person attempting suicide. In December of the same year, Bu received a year-end regular commendation from the Jeju Police Agency commissioner, bringing the total to 10 honors since 2020.
Although the timing is not specified, the senior patrol officer surnamed Bu also has a record of being referred to a disciplinary committee after an internal affairs probe over domestic violence. Bu is also under investigation on suspicion of secretly entering a women's restroom and filming.
On May 15, the senior patrol officer surnamed Bu received a report that "Jang left the lodging and cannot be reached," and falsely closed the case after about two hours and 30 minutes as if contact had been made with Jang. On the 2nd of last month, Bu allegedly falsely closed a missing-person case involving a man in his 60s in a manner similar to Jang's case. A court issued an arrest warrant for the senior patrol officer surnamed Bu the previous day.