Missing Student Found

[Anchor Lead]

A Taiwanese college student who was reported missing in Korea and out of contact for more than ten days was found at a detention center. Here's why.

[Pkg]

The family of a 19-year-old Taiwanese college student surnamed Chang lost touch with Chang since she came to South Korea on February 14 as a tourist. Chang's mother reported her daughter missing to the Taiwanese authorities, and launched a campaign via the press and social media to find her. The Seoul Jongno Police Station received the missing report from the Taipei Mission in Korea and launched an investigation to determine Chang's whereabouts. But it turns out that Chang has been at a detention center in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do Province since February 24. Chang was detained the day after her arrival in Korea for acting as a cash withdrawal member of a voice phishing gang by officers from the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency who were staking out near ATMs. Police continued their investigation to find Chang for over a week, unaware of her detention due to a confusion in the police computer network. Korean police had no obligation to notify Taiwanese authorities of Chang's detention because South Korea and Taiwan have no diplomatic ties.

[Soundbite] Police Official(Voice modified) : "Although there are no diplomatic ties with Taiwan, we asked her because of her human rights and basic rights. But she asked us not to tell her family."

The investigation into Chang's disappearance has come to an end, but it has revealed loopholes in the police information sharing network on foreigners under arrest.