South Korea tour guide arrested over Philippine kidnap

SEOUL—A South Korean tour guide has been arrested over the kidnapping of four compatriots by Philippine gunmen, who allegedly included local policemen, police said Friday.

The 33-year-old identified only as Choi was held Thursday during an investigation into the kidnapping of the Korean tourists in Manila this week, police said.

The guide told investigators he had conspired with Philippine police officers and a South Korean broker staying in Manila, a police spokesman in the central city of Daejeon told Agence France-Presse.

Choi and 12 South Korean tourists from a sports club in Cheonan, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Seoul, arrived in Manila last Saturday for a four-day vacation, according to a police statement.

Four of them guided by Choi left their hotel in Manila on Tuesday morning for last-minute shopping. But they were forced into two cars by five gunmen including Philippine police officers outside the hotel, it said.

They were released after their families paid a total ransom of 24 million won (around $21,000) through a Korean middleman living in Manila, Yonhap news agency said, adding Choi later shared the ransom with Philippine police.

Police confirmed a ransom was paid but refused to say how much.

Yonhap said the four had been kept for seven hours in a room apparently used by police. It said Philippine police had rounded up 10 people for their involvement in the case.

The Philippines is a favorite tourism destination for South Koreans and thousands also work, reside or study there.

Last November authorities rescued three South Koreans kidnapped in a remote part of Mindanao island.