Bodies of four missing people found on island as fears of serial killer rise

4 missing people found dead within 72 hours

A man in his 60s was found dead on Saturday, 50 days after a missing person's report was filed with local police and another, in his 70s, was found by a person fishing.

One 37 year-old woman's body was found Monday, nearly 100 days after she was reported missing, while the fourth body, also found on Monday, has yet to be identified.

Jeju island, a popular South Korean destination, has become the epicenter of a growing fear among civilians and officials of a serial killing spree.

The discoveries all took place within the past three days, leading to the arrest of a local police officer for the premature closure of multiple cases involving missing people.

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung has called for greater policing and accountability over missing people cases.

Lee Jae Myung stated: "The recent breakdown in police discipline and irresponsibility in public safety matters have become a serious problem.

“Police are likely to wield the greatest power among state institutions,” adding that the public questioned whether the force could bear the responsibility.

"Responsibility must be strengthened in proportion ⁠to the size of the authority," he added.

Police are now reviewing all the missing-person cases handled by the arrested official, amounting to 298 of them.

Four more officers at Jeju Seobu police have been suspended with increasing worries of premature closing of such cases.

All four missing people that were later found dead had a commonality in being found on hiking trails or near residential areas, leading to increased suspicion of a serial killer amidst the island.

Though no official declaration has been made, suspicion of foul-play is at hand.

However, South Korea is a leading country for suicide rates, one of the highest in the world, while violent crimes are rare.

The BBC reports that the 37 year-old woman, Jang, had died by suicide as she was found near a palm tree farm near to where she was staying.

Yet many remain skeptical about this theory.

"I don't understand it," said Jang's boyfriend on TV Chosun.

"She repeatedly told me the place (palm tree farm) scared her when passing by, so I can't understand why she would be found there."

One Jeju local explained his skepticism: "The farm is densely planted with Canary Island date palms with sharp, rigid fronds.

"It's not a tree with typical branches; getting too close will prick you. Hanging a rope on that tree is almost impossible."

Many have taken their thoughts to X and sharing their flight cancelations to Jeju island.

One user wrote on X: "We’re cancelling our 3 days trip to Jeju in September because WTF."

One account claimed to have been eating in a restaurant close by to their accommodation where the owner insisted on driving them back.

It read: "Eventually, we got in, and while she was driving us back, she said how there aren't many people around here anymore, that there've been a lot of murders and missing people.

"But everyone just keeps quiet about it all.

"Then she went on to say that the missing ones are all tourists, tourists stick out so obviously as tourists, so it feels like they're being targeted for that reason.

"She kept warning us, no matter how close the accommodation is, to always take a taxi around, and she dropped us right in front of our place before leaving."

Overall, Seoul police are said to be reviewing over 92,800 missing people cases, while Busan police are reviewing 25,605. 99% of which are closed.