In South Korea, the alleged falsification of missing persons files by a single police officer on Jeju Island has opened a far wider question about who a society chooses to protect and who it quietly allows to disappear. Two people whose cases were closed within hours were later found dead, and the grief of their families has become the catalyst for a national review of 310,000 closed cases. The law, as it stands, grants the full weight of the state's investigative powers only to children and those with cognitive disabilities — leaving working-age adults classified as runaways, beyond the reach
South Korea to review 310,000 missing cases after police falsified records scandal
Two people whose cases were allegedly falsified by the officer were found dead; 931 people reported missing in South Korea last year were found dead despite closed cases.