BI nabs 4 Korean fugitives in Pasig and Pampanga ops

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday announced that its intensified campaign against undesirable aliens in the country resulted in the arrest of four South Korean fugitives allegedly involved in telecom fraud and other serious crimes.

The four South Koreans, who were arrested on separate occasions by the BI’S Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), were identified as Chun Junghoon, 39; Kim Jingsuk, 44; Park Geon Jin, 34; and Park Kyoungtae, 40.

“We are in the midst of an intensified campaign to flush out these wanted foreigners who are using the country as a refuge to elude arrest and prosecution for crimes they committed in their homeland,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.

Chun, according to the BI, has been on its wanted list since 2020 when he was ordered deported by the BI Board of Commissioners.

On February 1, Chun was finally arrested by immigration authorities at San Antonio Village in Pasig City.

He has a standing warrant of arrest issued by the Busan district court in January 2020 for working as a telemarketer for a telecom fraud syndicate that duped their victims nearly $3,000 through voice phishing. Meanwhile, Kim was arrested last February 4 in Barangay Anonas, Angeles City, Pampanga.

He is wanted in South Korea for embezzling around $300,000 from his employer by illegally selling 1,300 tons of imported coal from Russia. Park, who is facing trial in Seoul Seobu District Court, was arrested on the same day in Pampanga.

He has been tagged as a member of a voice phishing organization, which has reportedly amassed 7.65 million Korean won from their operation since 2018.

Last February 8, BI operatives arrested Parkkyoungtaeinangelescity.

He is facing trial in Busan for illegally operating a gambling web site since 2020, and generating revenues through online bets.

The four aliens are now detained at the BI warden facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City pending deportation.

“They will also be placed in our blacklist, thus banning them from reentering the country,” Tansingco said.