Over 100 Foreign Fugitives Hiding in South Korea... Fraud Most Common

Early last month, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency arrested a Chinese national in his 50s, identified as A, and forcibly deported him to China.

A was a fugitive who committed robbery and murder in Tianjin, China, 29 years ago in 1997, entered South Korea in 2017, and had been living as an illegal resident.

It has been confirmed that as of last month, more than 100 foreigners who committed crimes abroad and fled to South Korea were found living in the country.

According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Jun-hwan today (September 8), a total of 110 foreigners who committed crimes in their home countries or other overseas regions and fled to South Korea were recorded as of August 12.

By nationality, individuals wanted by Interpol at the request of China accounted for 40 people, or 36 percent of the total.

Uzbekistan followed with 19 people, Mongolia with 17, and Vietnam with 13.

Most of the remaining fugitives came from geographically adjacent Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, and Japan.

By type of crime, fraud was the most common charge with 47 people.

This was followed by 29 individuals facing "other" charges, such as violations of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse, abduction, kidnapping, confinement, and prostitution.

Single-digit figures were recorded for drug offenses (7 people), theft (5), Road Traffic Act violations (5), injury (5), and assault (5).

Upon receiving cooperation requests from Interpol, the National Police Agency notifies the regional provincial police agency jurisdiction where the suspect is estimated to be residing to attempt an arrest.

This year, through an organizational restructuring, the number of personnel dedicated to international cooperation was increased from 22 to 64.

As a result, the number of repatriated criminals jumped nearly twofold, from 13 last year to 24 as of August this year.

Driven by reciprocity between nations, strengthened domestic cooperative investigations also lead to an increased apprehension rate for South Korean criminals who have fled abroad.

For example, Chinese investigative authorities are actively cooperating in capturing South Korean voice phishing and scam criminals who fled to China.

The number of criminals who fled to China and were repatriated to South Korea stood at 192 last year, maintaining triple-digit figures annually.

This cooperative framework also has a positive impact on the protection of overseas Korean nationals.

By strengthening cooperation with Mongolia, the National Police Agency repatriated 13 fugitives who had fled to South Korea back to Mongolia this year, marking a 330 percent increase in the apprehension rate compared to the previous year.

As cooperative ties grew closer, the Mongolian National Police Agency has been cooperating in protecting South Koreans residing locally.

In February, an incident occurred in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar where an overseas Korean citizen was assaulted. When the Korean National Police Agency requested a reinvestigation and disciplinary action against those responsible over the local police's passive response, Mongolian investigative authorities punished the perpetrator and relieved the head of the local police station of his duties.

Lawmaker Kim Jun-hwan stated, "It is a serious issue that directly threatens the safety of our citizens when overseas serious crime fugitives blatantly hide and live in our country," adding, "The police must expand specialized personnel and budgets for Interpol cooperation to substantially increase the apprehension rate of fugitives."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.