11-year-old who went missing at North Gyeongsang national park found dead

A picture of an 11-year-old elementary school student who was found dead on May 12, after going missing in Mount Juwang, North Gyeongsang, on May 11 [YONHAP]

The 11-year-old boy who went missing on Sunday while hiking with his family at Mount Juwang National Park in North Gyeongsang was found dead on Tuesday by the authorities.

The authorities suspect the boy slipped and died.

The authorities had continued search efforts, mobilized 80 personnel, five drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras, and rescue dogs for the night search on Monday.

The Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters and the Korea National Park Service deployed personnel and equipment across the park for a third consecutive day of search operations.

Search teams had focused on hiking trails and nearby slopes stretching from Giam Bridge, where the boy was last seen by his parents, to the peak of Mount Juwang, which stands 720.6 meters (2,364 feet) above sea level.

The boy, who lived in Daegu, visited a Buddhist temple inside Mount Juwang National Park with his parents on Sunday.

Around noon that day, he reportedly told his parents at

Giam Bridge that he would “go a little farther up the mountain” before disappearing.

After he failed to return, his parents filed a missing persons report at 5:53 p.m. the same day.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.