‘PH is 2nd top destination of criminal suspects fleeing South Korea’

By: 10 years ago

SEOUL—The Philippines is the second top destination for criminal suspects fleeing South Korea, a news report by The Korea Herald said on Wednesday.

It said China was the most favored destination for fugitives with 707 choosing to go there, followed by the Philippines with 283, Japan with 223 and Hong Kong with 165, the data showed.

This came from a survey released by Rep. Lee Sang-min of the ruling Saenuri Party that more than half of criminal suspects who have fled South Korea to escape punishment have not yet been rounded up.

It showed “a total of 3,890 offenders absconded overseas after committing crimes on South Korean soil in the past five years. Of that total, 2,175, or 55.8 percent, are still on the run.”

Lee released the result based on data the justice ministry submitted to the National Assembly for an annual audit.

Among the crimes cited, the data said there were 1,1390 fraud suspects, followed by 247 people accused of embezzlement, 149 of drug-related crimes and 86 of theft.

“We must continue pursuing criminal suspects who flee abroad to bring them to justice,” Lee said, adding the government should come up with detailed judicial cooperation with other countries to arrest and extradite the suspects.