Seoul: Police will seek to introduce legal grounds to track the locations of adults reported missing as part of follow-up measures to a recent high-profile missing person case, officials said Friday. The National Police Agency stated it aims to establish provisions similar to those used in locating missing children, enabling them to confirm or track the data of missing adults.

According to Yonhap News Agency, police investigators currently face restrictions in tracking the locations of mobile devices of adults reported missing unless there are indications of a crime. This limitation often forces the police to assume that the missing individuals may have voluntarily left their homes. To address this, the agency also plans to strengthen the management of missing person cases by setting up a dedicated organization for overseeing such cases.

The proposed measures come in response to increasing public demand for improved police handling of missing person cases. This follows significant public outcry over a missing woman case on the southern resort island of Jeju. In this case, a police officer prematurely closed the investigation after the woman was reported missing in May without verifying her safety. Tragically, her body was discovered last week after an extensive police search.