2 South Korean felons arrested in Mindanao

MANILA -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said it is set to deport two South Koreans for blatantly violating Philippine immigration laws.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said Shin Jaewon, 36; and Park Kwang Soo, 53, were arrested by BI’s intelligence division agents in separate operations last week in Mindanao.

The BI chief added that Shin, a fugitive who escaped from detention two years ago, was re-arrested on November 27 inside his hotel room in Cagayan de Oro City while Park, a tourist who overstayed for 13 years in the country, was apprehended the next day in his residence in Davao City.

Aside from being deported to Korea, Morente said the duo will be blacklisted and banned from reentering the country.

BI intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said Shin is wanted in Korea for fraud since 2012 and has been on the bureau’s wanted list since September 17 when he escaped from the bureau’s custody. A summary deportation order against Shin was already issued by the BI board of commissioners in 2016. Meanwhile, the BI official said Park was arrested after informants tipped the bureau that the South Korean national had been overstaying in the country since 2006. A letter-complaint accusing the South Korean of being undesirable and anti-Filipino was reportedly received by the bureau which prompted Morente to issue a mission order for his arrest. Manahan added that Park was unable to show his passport and instead presented a fake Philippine postal ID when asked to produce his identification documents by the arresting agents. (PNA)