Jeju: A police officer has partially admitted to allegations that he prematurely closed the missing person case of a woman in her 30s on the southern resort island of Jeju without confirming her safety, police said Friday. While undergoing questioning, the officer admitted to having falsely told the woman's boyfriend, who reported her missing, that she had been contacted and confirmed safe.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the officer reportedly admitted his actions after investigators confronted him with an autopsy report that showed the victim may have died at least two days before she was first reported missing on May 15. The body of the victim was found Monday at a palm tree farm near her residence on the island. The officer was placed under formal arrest the following day.

The Jeju police earlier indicated they were examining the officer's shift report from the evening when he received the initial missing report, suspecting he may have intentionally omitted key information from his duty report. Normally, missing person cases, especially those involving women, are escalated to higher authorities, often reaching the Jeju police chief, due to the potential risk of the missing individuals being subject to crimes.

The officer in question is said to have failed to report the missing woman's case to his superiors. He is also suspected of having deleted her data from the profile list of missing persons, while inserting false information that she had died in a car accident.