No Need to Panic Over Lost Belongings
Access "LOST 112" for Recovery
Sejong Northern Police Station to Continue
Promoting Public Awareness as Part of Basic Order Campaign
A resident of Sejong, identified as Mr. A, lost a gold bracelet valued at 5.5 million won. For Mr. A, this bracelet was a precious item above all else. He immediately reported the loss and made every effort to locate the missing item, but there was no news. The bracelet had been found by someone else and was being kept at a police station. Because it was a high-value item, the police used every possible method to find its owner, and eventually, the bracelet was returned to Mr. A's wrist. Similarly, another citizen, Mr. B, lost 1 million won in cash. However, it was confirmed that the police were able to return the cash to its rightful owner through their lost property recovery process.
Lost property kept at the Crime Prevention and Order Division, Crime Prevention Department, Northern Police Station, Sejong Police Agency. Photo by Kim Giwan
These two cases are examples of the Northern Police Station of the Sejong Police Agency (Chief Noh Seho) returning valuables registered in the LOST 112 integrated lost property management system to their owners. When a lost item is reported, individuals can access LOST 112 to check and recover their belongings. However, there are many citizens who give up searching for their lost items because they are unaware of the existence of the LOST 112 system, prompting calls within the police for measures to address this issue.
The police believe that not many people are aware that such a system is in operation. This is significant because all lost items that are not claimed within the designated six-month holding period are disposed of. In fact, when the Asia Economy reporting team checked the lost property kept by the police, they found that hundreds of various items were being stored.
Recently, the Northern Police Station in Sejong launched a large-scale campaign to promote basic public order in Jochiwon-eup, the central city of the northern region. At the same time, they promoted the LOST 112 integrated lost property management system operated by the National Police Agency. The campaign emphasized that finding and reporting lost items to the police is a matter of conscience and is closely related to maintaining basic public order.
The police determined that places where lost items are likely to occur are areas with high foot traffic, such as traditional markets, and conducted their campaign there. In addition to promoting public order, the campaign aimed to raise public awareness of the LOST 112 system by engaging directly with citizens. Although the campaign to promote basic public order was considered successful, the police have tentatively decided that ongoing promotion of the LOST 112 integrated lost property management system website is necessary to ensure the public's right to know.
Sergeant Han Seyoon, who is in charge of the integrated lost property management system at the National Police Agency, said, "While handling the registration and storage of lost property, I have found that most citizens are not even aware that the LOST 112 website exists. The number of lost items reported increases every year, as do related civil complaints, but due to the lack of public awareness, the utilization rate of the LOST 112 site remains low." She explained that this is why many lost items are not properly returned. Sergeant Han added, "The LOST 112 site is designed to attract public interest and make it easy for people to check and recover their lost items from the perspective of the public. I hope more people will take an active interest in LOST 112."
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