Korean Murder Cases Reversed: Public Opinion Turns Incidents into Political Labels
The Chinese student case flipped from "Koreans killing Chinese" to a Korean-Chinese suspect; the police officer who took the report in the Jeju four-body case allegedly fabricated the closure. What truly warrants vigilance is not public safety, but how public opinion turns individual cases into political labels.
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The crime time was misreported across Chinese media
Many Chinese internet reports said the girl went to Jeong's home at 2 PM on August 20; Korean surveillance shows she actually entered with him at 2 AM on August 20. About 20 hours later, Jeong left wearing her clothes and carrying her suitcase, took a taxi to Dongdaegu Station, turned off her phone, changed back into men's clothes in the restroom, and returned, creating the illusion that the girl had left. Police used this sequence to identify him, and the so-called boyfriend's report did not change the investigation.
— Zhang ZheThe same Korean-Chinese identity serves both sides' narratives
When the case first broke, many on Chinese internet assumed it was Koreans killing a Chinese person, fearing anti-Chinese hate crimes. After the suspect was revealed to be Korean-Chinese, the narrative shifted to Chinese killing Chinese. Korean right-wingers and some netizens used it to claim Chinese people enter Korea to kill and that the Korean government indulges Chinese people, also saying the suspect's prison time is funded by Korean taxpayers. The same fact is exploited by both sides: Chinese public opinion wants to confirm Korean exclusion of Chinese, while Korean public opinion wants to confirm the threat of Chinese immigration.
— Zhang ZheCalls for deportation are wishful thinking: even a death sentence won't be carried out
Korea theoretically retains the death penalty but has not executed anyone in about 30 years. Even if Jeong is sentenced to death, he will not be executed. Under the principle of territorial jurisdiction, the case is handled by Korea. Extradition to China requires the consent of Korea, China, and the individual himself, and he obviously will not agree. More realistically, he may serve decades in a Korean prison and then be deported, by which time Chinese internet will have long stopped paying attention. Thus, online calls for deportation are more wishful thinking.
— Zhang ZheThe closure reason was fabricated by the responding officer
Jang Mi-ran left home on the evening of May 12 and never returned. Three days later, her cohabiting boyfriend reported her missing. The officer who took the report, surnamed Bu, told colleagues he had contacted her, that she was safe and wanted to be alone, and the search was called off. Two months later, a new report was rejected because of the record that she had been found. Later, her family reported to Seoul police, who ordered a reinvestigation, and the body was only discovered on August 24. Records later showed that Officer Bu had never spoken with her; the closure reason was fabricated.
— Zhang ZheThis is not a one-off mistake but a habit of closing cases
Officer Bu had been in the missing persons unit for about a year and a half, handling 298 cases. Media reported at least 10 were closed with the method of "person found, wants to be alone." He was also found to have left fingerprints in a women's restroom at the police station and was suspended on August 11. Another case of a 60-year-old man, also handled by him, was similarly written as "the person wants to be alone." The total number of missing person reports in Jeju is not unusual, but in his case, the proportion and method of suspicious closures exceed normal range and require case-by-case review.
— Zhang ZheThe suicide theory is hard to accept, but the evidence has already decayed
The body was found at the edge of a palm grove. For over 100 days, farmland next to it was cultivated daily, yet no one noticed. Media reported she hanged herself, but palm trunks are brittle, and the road to the site at night had no streetlights and was full of potholes. Jang Mi-ran had previously said the grove was scary and she never approached it; her home was only 400 meters away. These details make the suicide theory hard to fully accept, but the body was highly decomposed, and beyond a neck fracture, little evidence could be extracted.
— Zhang ZheIf police theory holds she died, her phone turned on four days later
If, as police speculate, Jang Mi-ran died the night she disappeared, her phone was last turned on at 9:44 AM on May 16 at Hallim Port, two kilometers away. This signal falls within the two-kilometer radius between her home and the discovery site. More troubling, surveillance after her disappearance could have been checked, but because Officer Bu had already closed the case, by the time the investigation was reopened, the footage had been overwritten, leaving only the initial footage of her leaving home. The missing evidence chain makes it hard to re-investigate and leaves room for various speculations.
— Zhang ZheConspiracy theories lack evidence; procedural failure is real
Korea ranks first in OECD suicide rate, while its intentional homicide rate is only moderate. Thus, Jeju police's inclination to classify the four bodies as suicide is not entirely baseless given the data and remaining forensic evidence. The problem is that key evidence disappeared due to the initial erroneous closure, and police tend to close cases quickly, which amplifies conspiracy theories. Currently, there is no direct evidence for mafia, murder maniacs, or police protection; the most solid accusation is procedural failure.
— Zhang ZheIn their own words · checked verbatim
The person in China claiming to be her boyfriend was involved in posting. And the suspect, surnamed Jeong, also claimed to be the girl's boyfriend when he reported to the police.
国内那个自称男友的那个人参与着发帖。 然后那个姓郑的犯罪嫌疑人，他在报警的时候也声称自己是这个女孩的男朋友
Zhang Zhe20:58
At first you think it's Koreans killing a Chinese person. Then everyone's attention is on how bad Korea's public safety is now. Yes, and now it's become Chinese killing Chinese, and Koreans also breathe a sigh of relief.
一开始你以为是韩国人杀中国人。 嗯，然后大家的关注呢就是韩国现在治安很差啊。 对，然后现在呢就变成中国人杀中国人，韩国人也松一口气吧
Zhang Zhe27:07
I think it's still that saying: it's not as good as we think, nor as bad as we think. Yes. Many people say you have to analyze specific situations; every place has crime.
我觉得就是还是那句话吧。 没有我们想的那么好，也没有我们想的那么差。 对。 就是。 呃，很多人讲就是还是具体情况，具体分析嘛，肯定每个地方都有犯罪的嘛。
Because I think a lot of the information on X and TikTok cannot be trusted. Last night I saw on X some big bloggers posting about these cases; some of them specialize in posting news. I feel what they post is problematic. Because they don't even understand Korean, but they grab it from elsewhere.
因为我觉得X和ths上面很多的那个信息是不能相信的。 嗯，昨天晚上还看到就X上面有很多有一些大大博主在那里发这些案子的信息嘛，他们有一些就是专门发什么新闻的嘛。 我感觉发的都是有问题的。 因为他们都不懂韩语语，但是从别的地方抓过来的。
We might be relatively slower, not that fast. And we won't appear particularly aggressive; without sufficient evidence, we won't say anything definitive, right? But at each time point, we help everyone sort out what has actually happened so far. I think that is very important.
我们可能会相对慢一点，没那么快。 然后呢也不会显得特别的激进，就是还没有什么呃非常充分的一些证据，就说什么东西，对吧？ 但是呢在。 每到一个时间节点，我们帮大家梳理一下目前到底发生了一些什么这样的事情，我觉得这个还是很重要的。
Figures
| Annual missing person reports in Korea | about 70,000 | 43:05 |
| Closure rate for missing person cases within the day | 90% | 43:05 |
| Closure rate for missing person cases within a month | 99% | 43:05 |
| Total missing person cases handled by Officer Bu | 298 | 43:05 |
| Cases closed by Officer Bu with 'person wants to be alone' | at least 10 | 43:05 |
| Time Jang Mi-ran left home | 10:15 PM on May 12 | 37:40 |
| Time between girl entering home and Jeong leaving in women's clothes | about 20 hours | 11:44 |
| Last signal from Jang Mi-ran's phone | 9:44 AM on May 16, Hallim Port | 49:27 |
| Korea's intentional homicide rate ranking in OECD | moderate | 53:32 |
| Korea's suicide rate ranking in OECD | first | 53:32 |
Glossary
- NPD / Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- The show uses this term to describe Jeong's high self-regard and lack of boundaries; it's an internet colloquialism, not a formal diagnosis.
- one room
- A common type of small single-room rental in Korea, often used by students and single occupants.
- territorial jurisdiction
- The principle that the country where a crime occurs has jurisdiction, making extradition in this case difficult.
How to listen
Chinese-speaking readers concerned about Korean society, Chinese students and professionals in Korea, and those who want to follow social media gossip but need a reliable timeline.
If time is tight, the latter part of the Jeju case discussing Jeju tourism and infrastructure can be fast-forwarded without affecting the main case narrative.