Vanished without a trace: Korea's most mystifying unsolved missing person cases

Korea has about 70,000 adults reported missing each year, and nearly all are found within weeks, but several cases remain unresolved for years or decades. They include veterinary student Lee Yun-hee, who disappeared in 2006, Kang Im-sook, who vanished after a 2013 expressway crash, and newlyweds Jeon Min-geun and Choi Sung-hee, who disappeared in 2016. Stone craftsman Bae Jin-seok also vanished in 2007 after a night out in Okcheon, and investigators have not established what happened to him.

National Police Agency data submitted in August to Rep. Chung Choon-saeng showed that the share of missing adult cases resolved within 30 days was 98.8 percent in 2022, 98.9 percent in 2023, 98.8 percent in 2024, 99 percent in 2025 and 99.4 percent through July 2026.

A cumulative 15,000 police officers took part in the search for Lee Yun-hee, who was last known to be at her Jeonju studio apartment in the early hours of June 6, 2006.

Kang Im-sook’s car was found with her phone, wallet and shoes inside; police also conducted eight polygraph tests on six people and hypnosis interviews with 17 people.

Surveillance footage from 22 cameras showed Jeon Min-geun and Choi Sung-hee entering their apartment building but not leaving; a Norwegian court later rejected Korea’s extradition request for Jeon’s ex-girlfriend, citing a lack of direct evidence.

Kim confessed to killing Bae Jin-seok and disposing of his body under a bridge, then retracted the confession; a court rejected a detention warrant request, citing a lack of objective evidence to prove murder.

Published Oct 23, 2026 7:00 am KST

Graphic by Bae So-young

Of the roughly 70,000 adults reported missing in Korea every year, nearly all are found within weeks. But a small fraction vanish without a trace, and some stay missing for decades.

According to data from the National Police Agency submitted in August to Rep. Chung Choon-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the share of missing adult cases resolved within 30 days has stayed near 99 percent over the past five years. It stood at 98.8 percent in 2022, 98.9 percent in 2023, 98.8 percent in 2024, 99 percent in 2025 and 99.4 percent through July 2026.

For the slim remainder, however, investigators run out of leads. Here are some of Korea’s most baffling adult missing person cases that remain unsolved.

Veterinary student Lee Yun-hee (2006)

Lee Yun-hee, who went missing in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, in 2006 / Korea Times file

Lee Yun-hee, a veterinary student at Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, went missing 20 years ago and has never been found. On June 5, 2006, she attended an end-of-semester gathering with professors and classmates at a restaurant roughly 1.5 kilometers from her studio apartment. She returned home around 2:30 a.m. the next day.

Lee spent a little over an hour browsing the internet on a desktop computer, starting around 2:59 a.m. on June 6. She spent three minutes searching “sexual harassment” and “112,” Korea’s police emergency number. The computer shut down at 4:21 a.m.

On June 8, her friends grew concerned when Lee hadn’t shown up for class. They called police and 119 emergency services and broke down her door, but she was gone. Despite a search involving a cumulative 15,000 police officers, her whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Namhae Expressway disappearance (2013)

Kang Im-sook, who went missing on the Namhae Expressway in 2013 / Yonhap

Kang Im-sook, 55 at the time, caused a crash near Munsan Interchange on the Namhae Expressway in South Gyeongsang Province in 2013 and went missing within about six minutes, before a tow truck could arrive.

Kang’s car was found with her phone, wallet and even her shoes still inside, but she has never been located. Police mobilized a cumulative 2,000 officers in the early stage of the search, deploying a special forces unit, divers, 20 search dogs, a helicopter and metal detectors, but failed to find her.

Investigators administered polygraph tests eight times on six people who were at the scene and conducted hypnosis interviews with 17 people, including those six, but turned up nothing. Kang’s whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Busan newlyweds vanish (2016)

A flyer seeking information on Jeon Min-geun and Choi Sung-hee, who went missing in Busan in 2016. Korea Times file

Newlyweds Jeon Min-geun, 34, and Choi Sung-hee, 33, vanished from their neatly tidied home in 2016, six months into their marriage.

Police initially suspected the couple had left on their own and held off on a full-scale investigation. After a week passed with no sign of them, investigators switched to a criminal probe.

Footage from 22 surveillance cameras in the apartment building showed the couple entering but never leaving. It was possible to evade the cameras, but doing so would have required a thorough knowledge of the blind spots and an extremely convoluted route.

Police suspected Jeon’s ex-girlfriend, who has been living in Norway, of involvement in the disappearance. In 2017, they asked Interpol to issue a red notice — an international alert for her arrest. She was arrested shortly afterward, but a Norwegian court rejected Korea’s extradition request, citing a lack of direct evidence.

Bae Jin-seok, who went missing in Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, in 2007 / Captured from YouTube channel @sbstruth

Okcheon stone craftsman Bae Jin-seok (2007)

Bae Jin-seok, a stone craftsman with 20 years of experience, disappeared in Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, in 2007.

On March 23, Bae had a drink alone at a tavern at around 9 p.m., then joined a local resident named Kim for a second round after running into him by chance. Around midnight, they headed to a singing room but turned back after learning it was closed. Those were Bae’s last known movements.

Police obtained a witness account of a heated argument between Bae and Kim in an alley near the singing room on the night Bae vanished. Kim, the prime suspect, first said he went home alone after parting with Bae. After the police interrogated him, he admitted to the argument and said he took Bae home.

After his arrest, Kim confessed to killing Bae and dumping the body under a bridge, but nothing was found at the location he named. At a pretrial detention hearing, he retracted the confession, saying he had not killed Bae. The court rejected a detention warrant request, citing a lack of objective evidence to prove murder.

Seo, a neighborhood acquaintance of Kim, was drinking at the same tavern around the time Bae is believed to have vanished. After Bae’s disappearance, a series of strange events unfolded, including an unexplained arson fire that destroyed Seo’s car. As police turned their investigation toward him, Seo killed his live-in partner, who could have corroborated his alibi, and then himself.

Anyone with information on any of these cases is asked to call police at 182.

韩国每年约有7万名成年人失踪，几乎所有失踪者都能在几周内找到，但也有一些案件悬而未决，持续数年甚至数十年。这些案件包括2006年失踪的兽医学生李允熙（Lee Yun-hee）、2013年高速公路车祸后失踪的姜任淑（Kang Im-sook），以及2016年失踪的新婚夫妇全敏根（Jeon Min-geun）和崔成熙（Choi Sung-hee）。石匠裴镇锡（Bae Jin-seok）也于2007年在沃川外出后失踪，调查人员至今仍未查明他的下落。

国家警察厅8月份提交给众议员郑春生的数据显示，2022年失踪成年人案件在30天内破案的比例为98.8%，2023年为98.9%，2024年为98.8%，2025年为99%，截至2026年7月为99.4%。

共有 15,000 名警察参与了对李允熙的搜寻，她最后一次被人看到是在 2006 年 6 月 6 日凌晨，地点是她在全州的单身公寓。

警方在姜任淑的车内发现了她的手机、钱包和鞋子；警方还对六人进行了八次测谎，并对 17 人进行了催眠访谈。

22 个摄像头的监控录像显示，全敏根和崔成熙进入了他们的公寓楼，但没有离开；挪威法院后来以缺乏直接证据为由，驳回了韩国引渡全敏根前女友的请求。

金某承认杀害了裴镇硕并将尸体丢弃在桥下，之后又撤回了供词；法院以缺乏客观证据证明谋杀为由，驳回了拘留令申请。

发布于2026年10月23日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

插图由裴素英绘制

韩国每年约有7万名成年人失踪，几乎所有人都会在几周内被找到。但仍有少数人杳无音信，有些人甚至失踪数十年。

根据韩国国家警察厅8月份提交给重建韩国党议员郑春生的数据显示，过去五年中，失踪成年人案件在30天内侦破的比例一直保持在99%左右。2022年为98.8%，2023年为98.9%，2024年为98.8%，2025年为99%，截至2026年7月为99.4%。

然而，对于剩下的少数案件，调查人员却束手无策。以下是韩国一些最令人费解、至今仍未侦破的成年人失踪案。

兽医学生李允熙（2006）

2006年在全罗北道全州市失踪的李允熙 / 《韩国时报》资料

李允熙是全罗北道全州市全北国立大学的一名兽医系学生，20年前失踪至今下落不明。2006年6月5日，她参加了在离她单身公寓约1.5公里的一家餐厅举行的学期末聚会，与教授和同学们共进晚餐。第二天凌晨2点30分左右，她回到了家。

李某于6月6日凌晨2点59分左右开始，在台式电脑上浏览互联网，持续了一个多小时。她花了三分钟搜索“性骚扰”和韩国报警电话“112”。电脑于凌晨4点21分关机。

6月8日，李同学没有来上课，朋友们开始担心起来。他们报警并拨打了119紧急服务电话，还破门而入，但她已经不见了。尽管警方累计出动了15000名警力进行搜寻，但至今她的下落仍然不明。

南海高速公路消失事件（2013年）

2013年在南海高速公路失踪的姜任淑 / 韩联社

2013 年，时年 55 岁的姜任淑在庆尚南道南海高速公路汶山立交桥附近造成一起车祸，在拖车到达之前约 6 分钟内便失踪了。

康的车被找到，车内还有她的手机、钱包甚至鞋子，但她本人却始终下落不明。搜寻初期，警方累计出动2000名警力，部署了特警队、潜水员、20条搜救犬、直升机和金属探测器，但仍然一无所获。

调查人员对案发现场的六人进行了八次测谎，并对包括这六人在内的十七人进行了催眠访谈，但一无所获。康的下落至今仍然不明。

釜山新婚夫妇失踪（2016）

一份寻人启事，寻找2016年在釜山失踪的全敏根和崔成熙。（韩国时报档案）

2016年，34岁的全敏根和33岁的崔成熙这对新婚夫妇在结婚六个月后，从他们整洁的家中消失了。

警方最初怀疑这对夫妇自行离开，因此没有展开全面调查。一周后仍未找到他们的踪迹，调查人员才转为刑事调查。

公寓楼内22个监控摄像头的录像显示，这对夫妇进入了公寓楼，但从未离开过。虽然有可能避开摄像头，但这需要他们对监控盲区了如指掌，并且需要选择极其迂回的路线。

警方怀疑居住在挪威的全前女友与此案有关。2017年，警方请求国际刑警组织发布红色通缉令，通缉该女子。她随后被捕，但挪威法院以缺乏直接证据为由驳回了韩国的引渡请求。

2007年在忠清北道沃川郡失踪的裴镇锡 / 图片来自YouTube频道@sbstruth

沃川石匠裴镇锡（2007）

2007 年，拥有 20 年经验的石匠裴镇锡在忠清北道沃川郡失踪。

3月23日晚9点左右，裴俊浩独自一人在一家小酒馆喝酒，之后偶然遇到当地居民金某，两人又喝了第二轮。午夜时分，他们前往一家歌舞厅，但得知歌舞厅已关门后便返回。这是裴俊浩最后一次被人知晓的行踪。

警方从目击者处获得证词，称裴某失踪当晚，裴某与金某在歌唱室附近的一条小巷里发生激烈争吵。主要嫌疑人金某起初声称与裴某分手后独自回家。经警方审讯，他承认与裴某发生争吵，并承认是他送裴某回家的。

金某被捕后，承认杀害了裴某并将尸体抛弃在桥下，但警方在他提供的地点并未找到任何尸体。在审前羁押听证会上，他推翻了之前的供述，声称自己没有杀害裴某。法院以缺乏客观证据证明谋杀罪为由，驳回了羁押令申请。

徐某是金某的邻居，据信在裴某失踪前后，他也在同一家酒吧喝酒。裴某失踪后，发生了一系列怪事，包括徐某的汽车被人纵火烧毁，原因不明。随着警方将调查方向转向徐某，他杀死了可以证实其不在场证明的同居伴侣，然后自杀身亡。

任何知晓这些案件信息的人士请拨打182联系警方。