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A South Korean youtuber Police have helped reunite a missing man with his family after an unexpected encounter during a livestream.
The streamer, known as 2ro2, was broadcasting live on the streets of Gwangju on November 21 when he stopped to talk to a man wearing a blue jacket.
During their brief exchange, the man insisted he was a 23-year-old college student, even though he looked middle-aged.
“My military service has been suspended,” he told the YouTuber.
Followers of the YouTuber, who has nearly 143,000 subscribers, immediately noted that the man resembled a man in a missing person alert issued a week earlier.
An alert broadcast locally on November 14 described a 44-year-old man named Kim who had cognitive problems disability And was missing since the beginning of this month. His appearance, clothing, and location all matched the person seen in 2ro2’s stream.
Realizing that the man was possibly a missing person, the YouTuber contacted the police while attempting to engage him, gently responding to his confusing statements about his age in an effort to prevent him from wandering off.
When the man refused to continue talking, 2ro2 followed him for some distance and reported his actions to the police.
Officers arrived shortly after, identified him as Mr Kim and released him safely to his family.
The case has drawn national attention to the Southeast Asian country’s increasing reliance on digital alerts and community interventions in locating vulnerable people.
Thousands of missing persons cases are registered in South Korea every year. A government report released in May said 49,624 people were reported missing in 2024, including 8,430 individuals with mental or cognitive disabilities.
While most, about 95 percent, were found within two days, officials said vulnerable adults and children often needed quick intervention to prevent any harm.
Since 2021, South Korea has issued missing person alerts targeting residents in the area around the missing person. Officials say this hyperlocal approach is improving outcomes but cases are still heavily dependent on public cooperation.
Police did not provide further details about the circumstances of Mr Kim’s disappearance, but local officials said the case shows how digital platforms, community vigilance and rapid reporting can play a major role in locating missing people with cognitive disabilities.