Foreign Criminals Fleeing to South Korea Exceed 100, Including 29-Year-Old Robbery-Homicide Fugitive

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

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

A was a criminal who committed a robbery and homicide 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 National Police Agency to the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Jun-hwan, foreign nationals who committed crimes overseas and fled to South Korea reached 110 as of August 12.

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

Uzbekistan and Mongolia followed, with the majority being geographically adjacent Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia.

Fraud charges were the most common at 47 people, while violations of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse, prostitution, and other charges also accounted for 29 people.

When a cooperation request is received from Interpol, the National Police Agency notifies the cooperative department of the regional provincial police agency with jurisdiction over the area where the criminal is presumed to be located to attempt an arrest.

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

As cases of overseas heinous crime fugitives hiding out domestically continue to rise, critics point out that the capture rate of fugitives must be substantially increased by expanding dedicated Interpol cooperation personnel and budgets.

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