Police receive missing person report every 5 minutes during Chuseok holidays

South Korean police received 5,155 missing-person reports during the Chuseok holiday periods over the past three years, equivalent to one report every five minutes, data showed Tuesday.

Adults, including those reported missing after leaving home, accounted for 2,994 cases, or 58.1 percent of the total, according to National Police Agency data obtained by Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Children under 18 accounted for 983 reports, or 19.1 percent, followed by people with dementia at 805, or 15.6 percent. Another 373 reports, or 7.2 percent, involved people with intellectual, developmental or mental disabilities.

Police received 1,603 reports during the six-day Chuseok holiday in 2023, 1,461 during the five-day break in 2024 and 2,091 during the seven-day holiday in 2025.

By the end of each holiday period, police had closed 4,748 cases, or 92.1 percent of the total. The number eventually rose to 5,152, meaning all but three reports were removed from the active missing-person system.

The figures come as police face scrutiny over whether they adequately confirm the whereabouts and safety of missing adults before closing cases.

The concern intensified following revelations that an officer handling the disappearance of a woman in her 30s on Jeju Island closed her case and removed her information from the police missing-person profiling system without confirming her safety.

In response, police are inspecting about 310,000 missing-person cases closed over the past three years. The review is expected to be completed by November.