Sudden Disappearance of a South Korean, Missing for Over Two Years

In March 2024, a South Korean man in his 30s, identified as A, who was working at a local casino in the Philippines, went missing.

An acquaintance reported that he could no longer be reached, prompting the local police and immigration agency to search for him. However, he remains classified as a long-term missing person after 2 years and 7 months.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Dae-sik, there were 66 overseas Koreans whose whereabouts remained unconfirmed and whose cases were left "unresolved" in the first half of this year after being reported missing abroad.

The vast majority of them, 60 individuals, were concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, while Europe and the Americas accounted for 4 and 2 unaccounted-for individuals, respectively.

The number of missing overseas Koreans has increased sharply since last year.

There were 13 cases in 2023 and 12 cases in 2024, but the figure surged to 88 last year.

Similarly, the majority of these disappearances occurred in the Asia-Pacific region.

The number of overseas Koreans reported missing due to lost contact with diplomatic missions or suspected disappearance reached 1,002 in the first half of this year.

Last year saw 2,346 such cases, following 1,372 cases in 2024.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that it is making continuous efforts to locate missing persons by requesting checks from relevant authorities such as local police and immigration agencies, conducting interviews with related parties, and cooperating with the Korean community.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kihyun | Graphics by Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.