A Chinese national in his 50s, accused of committing a robbery-homicide in China 29 years ago and living illegally in South Korea, has been captured and repatriated.

The Narcotics Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced today (August 4) that it arrested A, a 50-year-old Chinese national, in flagrante delicto for violations of the Immigration Control Act and forcibly repatriated him to China.

A is suspected of committing a taxi robbery in Tianjin, China, in March 1997 alongside two accomplices, including a person identified as B, during which they stabbed and killed the driver for resisting.

Although the perpetrators remained unidentified at the time, investigation momentum picked up after B was arrested in China in September 2021 following DNA analysis that revealed his identity.

Chinese law enforcement authorities apprehended another accomplice, confirmed that A was staying in South Korea, issued an Interpol Red Notice, and requested cooperation from South Korean police.

As major overseas crimes, such as criminal compound cases in Cambodia, continued to emerge, the South Korean police strengthened their international cooperation capabilities by assigning the case to the International Cooperation Division within the Narcotics Investigation Unit, initiating an investigation in March.


Police conducted inquiries into areas where A had previously lived and apprehended him on July 2 near his residence in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, following a stakeout.

Because A was an illegal resident, police initially arrested him under the Immigration Control Act, placed him under protective custody, and recently handed him over to Chinese law enforcement authorities at Incheon International Airport.

Investigations revealed that A entered South Korea in 2017 and traveled back and forth between South Korea and China. After accomplices like B were arrested, A continued to stay in the country past his visa expiration date, living a fugitive life.

Working temporary daily jobs in South Korea, A avoided using mobile phones or bank accounts under his own name to evade tracking and routinely wore a mask in public, police stated.

A police official said, "The Ministry of Public Security of China has expressed its gratitude regarding A's arrest," adding, "We hope this case will serve as an opportunity to expand international cooperation in investigating fugitives fleeing abroad between South Korea and China."

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)