▲ Police officers prepare for a full-scale search for Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman missing since May, at Hallim Harbor on the southern island of Jeju on Aug. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES with senior police official's apology, prime minister's instructions in last 4 paras; CHANGES dateline)

JEJU/SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- A police officer suspected of closing a missing person case without confirming the woman's safety has been placed under emergency arrest, police said Sunday.

The officer was detained without a warrant the previous day on suspicion of dereliction of duty, falsifying official electronic records, and obstruction of official duties through deceptive means, according to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency.

The emergency arrest was made after the officer was found to have closed another missing person case prematurely, revealed through the discovery of the man's body on Saturday.

The missing woman, 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, has yet to be found, more than three months after she was initially reported missing by her family.

In both cases, the police officer is suspected of arbitrarily closing them after telling the families that the missing people were safe.

The officer has claimed that he closed Jang's case after reporting to supervisors that he spoke with her, but a recent investigation found no call records between the two.

The police and the Coast Guard began a full-scale search for Jang on Thursday.

Hong Seok-ki, head of the National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), visited the Jeju agency Sunday to receive briefings on the search and investigation.

"Of course I am sorry to the people and will make institutional remedies to ensure such cases never happen again," he told reporters as he left the building. "I also reprimanded them strongly so that they would regain their focus during the field investigation."

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook ordered the KNPA to thoroughly investigate the truth, according to her office.

In particular, she called for a determination of whether the cases were closed without following due procedures and a swift report on fundamental countermeasures against a recurrence.

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