The disappearance
On March 26, 1991, five boys from the same Daegu neighborhood left home for nearby Waryong Mountain. Contemporary and later reports say they intended to look for salamander eggs. They did not return.
The disappearance became a national case. Police, military personnel, volunteers and residents participated in repeated searches, but no confirmed trace of the children was found at the time.
Eleven years without an answer
The families continued to press for searches and investigation as theories multiplied. Some early investigative assumptions treated the possibility that the boys had voluntarily left home more seriously than later critics believed was warranted. No ransom demand or verified communication from an offender resolved the case.
The absence of a reliable scene or suspect meant that speculation often outran evidence. This archive does not reproduce unsupported accusations against named individuals.
Remains found in 2002
On September 26, 2002, a local resident found human remains on Waryong Mountain. They were identified as the five missing children.
Questions about injuries to the remains and the exact circumstances of death led to renewed scrutiny. Later reporting also criticized aspects of scene preservation and the initial forensic response. Those disputes are important because they limit what can responsibly be stated today: the boys died, but no perpetrator has been judicially established and no single public theory of how all five deaths occurred has been proved.
The statute of limitations
Under the law then applicable, the limitation period expired on March 25, 2006. The case consequently became a permanent unsolved case in the legal sense used by Korean reporting, even though investigators can continue reviewing evidence and attempting to establish the truth.
Reinvestigation from 2019
In 2019, after advances in other long-unsolved Korean cases, Daegu police reopened systematic review of the Frog Boys file. Investigators revisited tips, records and stored evidence rather than declaring the case exhausted.
At the 35th anniversary in March 2026, Daegu Metropolitan Police said the reinvestigation was still continuing. Police were reexamining evidence and case records, while families called for advanced forensic methods and greater disclosure of investigative material.
Timeline
March 26, 1991: five boys leave their Daegu neighborhood for Waryong Mountain and disappear.
1991–2002: repeated searches and investigations fail to locate them.
September 26, 2002: the children's remains are found on Waryong Mountain.
March 25, 2006: the statute of limitations applicable at the time expires.
2019: Daegu police begin a renewed cold-case investigation.
March 26, 2026: on the 35th anniversary, police confirm they are still reexamining evidence and case records.
Current status
The case is classified as Unsolved / Active Cold-Case Review. No person has been convicted, no offender has been officially identified, and the exact circumstances of the children's deaths remain unresolved. The continuing police review is not presented as evidence against any specific person.