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Man who went missing in third grade reunited with family 36 years later

Published: 25 May. 2025, 20:40

Citizens watch a video of missing children during an event held on May 24, 2024, in central Seoul, a day ahead of the national Missing Children's Day. [NEWS1]

One month ahead of the national Missing Children's Day on May 25, a man who went missing as a third grader was reunited with his family after 36 years.

Last month, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency helped reunite a man surnamed Choi, now 45, with his biological mother and aunt. Choi had been reported missing in May 1989.

At the time, Choi left home saying he was heading to school but never returned. He had been living with his paternal aunt in eastern Seoul’s Gangdong District because his mother had been unable to care for him after her health deteriorated following the death of her husband in September 1988.

Choi’s homeroom teacher at the time informed the aunt that he had not come to school, and Choi's aunt immediately reported him missing to the police. She said she thought Choi had returned to his mother. However, Choi’s mother had severed contact with her in-laws after her husband’s death, so the situation remained unclear.

Police launched an investigation after the initial report but were unable to locate Choi. In July 2022, Choi’s biological mother reestablished contact with the aunt and learned for the first time that Choi had gone missing as a child. They filed a new report, prompting the Seoul Metropolitan Police to reopen the case under its long-term missing persons unit.

A police officer takes the fingerprints of a baby in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 24, 2022, a day ahead of the national Missing Children's Day. [YONHAP]

Police in Jeonju use drones to monitor missing people on May 23 in North Jeolla. [YONHAP]

Investigators speculated that Choi may have entered a facility for persons without known family — referred to in Korean as muyeongoja, or individuals without traceable familial or personal records. Police canvassed 52 such institutions, interviewing 309 residents and collecting DNA samples. They also reviewed databases of individuals who had since left these facilities, checked adoption records with organizations like Holt Children’s Services and monitored new admissions to homeless shelters nationwide.

Based on the data, police narrowed their list to 39 individuals with similar names and ages. Among them, they identified a man matching Choi’s profile using a photograph preserved by a boys' protection facility in Busan. The man’s recorded birth date did not match what the family remembered, complicating the identification process. Choi had created a new family name and identity in 1995, used when someone lacks any official record of their biological parents.

Using DNA analysis conducted by the National Forensic Service, police confirmed Choi’s biological relationship to his mother.

Choi had entered a missing children’s shelter in the Seoul metropolitan area shortly after disappearing, later moved to Busan and eventually became self-sufficient as an adult, according to findings.

The "Hope Tape," tape containing the faces of 28 missing children, are being put on a parcel box in a post office in central Seoul on May 25, 2021, the day of the national Missing Children's Day. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“We will not give up on a single missing person,” said police. “We will continue to use all available means — from CCTV analysis to facility inquiries and DNA matching — to pursue long-term missing cases to the end.”

Choi’s aunt told police, “I am deeply grateful that the investigation allowed our family to reunite.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM SEONG-JIN [[email protected]]