Fugitive Convicted of Murder 29 Years Ago Among Foreign Criminals Hiding in South Korea

It has been confirmed that as of last month, more than 100 foreign nationals who committed crimes abroad have fled to South Korea.

In early last month, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency arrested a Chinese national in his 50s, identified as A, and forcibly repatriated 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.

According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jun-hwan, foreign fugitives who committed crimes abroad and fled to South Korea reached 110 as of August 12.

By country of origin, cases with Interpol red notices requested by China accounted for 40 individuals, making up 36 percent of the total.

Uzbekistan and Mongolia followed, with the vast majority coming from geographically neighboring Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia.

Fraud charges were the most common at 47 individuals, while charges related to violations of the Child and Youth Protection Act and prostitution also accounted for 29 individuals.

When a cooperation request is received from Interpol, the National Police Agency notifies the cooperative units of the provincial police agency in charge of the jurisdiction where the fugitive is suspected to be hiding to attempt an arrest.

This year, the number of dedicated cooperation personnel was increased from the previous 22 to 64, leading to a nearly twofold increase in repatriated criminals from 13 last year to 24 this year.

As cases of fugitives who committed serious crimes overseas hiding in the country are on the rise, experts point out that the arrest rate for fugitives must be substantially raised by expanding dedicated Interpol cooperation personnel and budgets.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Min-ji | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.