The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday deported 49 South Korean nationals, all wanted for various crimes in their homeland.
The deportation follows President Marcos’ directive to ensure the swift removal of foreign fugitives and undesirable aliens from the country.
The deportation was arranged by the bureau’s Deportation and Implementation Unit (DIU) in coordination with the South Korean Embassy, which provided logistical assistance to expedite the deportation of its citizens.
The arrested fugitives were composed of 6 females and 43 males.
All were summarily deported after being tagged by their government as fugitives from justice.
“Most of those deported faced cases of fraud in South Korea,” BI Commissioner Joel Viado said.
“We are grateful for the strong partnership with the South Korean government to make sure that these criminals are returned to their home country to face justice,” he added.
Viado said that the decongestion of the BI’s holding facility, as well as the speedy deportation of illegal aliens, remains a priority of his administration.
Among those deported is Choi Hojun, 36, who was arrested by the BI fugitive search unit (FSU) agents in Angeles City, Pampanga, last April 14.
Choi is wanted in South Korea for allegedly being the mastermind of a messaging phishing syndicate based in China and the Philippines.
Their criminal organization reportedly transferred a total of KRW 1.7 billion (P70 million) by illegally accessing sensitive information, particularly banking data of around 200 victims.
Another deportee, identified as Han Jonghoon, 42, was arrested by the FSU in Annapolis, San Juan City, last July 4 for allegedly operating 23 illegal online gambling websites targeting Koreans, and reportedly pocketing more than KRW 2 trillion (P82.5 billion) in profits.
Also deported were Jung Hoesung, 40, and Choi Byeongil, 44.
Jung is wanted in Korea for operating illegal online platforms and subjecting recruits to intimidation and physical assault. Choi, on the other hand, is wanted for allegedly being the mastermind behind a real estate deposit loan scam, embezzling billions of Won.
“Let me reiterate. The Philippines is not a haven for foreign fugitives. Those who abuse our country’s hospitality will face the harshest penalty of law,” Viado warned.
The fugitives were escorted back to South Korea by representatives from BI and the South Korean government.
Editor’s Note: Headline for this story has been corrected. Previous edition mistakenly set the number of deported South Korean fugitives at ’89.’ The correct number is ’49’ as stated in the lead.
