'COVID-19 Pandemic' Also Affects Repatriation of Fugitives Abroad... Police Struggle Amid Adverse Conditions

Flight Reductions Due to Entry Restrictions Worldwide
Domestic Repatriations Decrease Compared to Previous Years
Breakthrough Through Interpol Cooperation and Police Attach?s' Efforts
Rapid Transfer of 'Lime Scandal' and Voice Phishing Offenders

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency escorting Lee Mo (56), the ringleader of a cybercrime organization involved in crimes worth approximately 43 billion won, at Incheon Airport. Due to concerns about Lee's potential COVID-19 infection after arriving from Thailand, two investigators are wearing protective suits.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The global pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), with nearly 26 million confirmed cases worldwide, is also affecting the repatriation of fugitives abroad to South Korea. Despite adverse conditions such as a drastic reduction in flights, the police are "struggling hard" to bring criminals to justice.

According to the National Police Agency on the 4th, the repatriation of fugitives abroad to South Korea has steadily increased over the past three years: 300 in 2017, 304 in 2018, and 401 last year. This reflects cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO/Interpol) and active collaboration with local judicial authorities through overseas police attach?s.

However, this year, repatriations are expected to decrease significantly compared to previous years. A police official explained, "It is difficult to disclose specific figures, but repatriations have not even reached half of last year's numbers." The biggest reason is, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. In principle, repatriation of fugitives abroad requires using the national carrier of the country of repatriation. However, with the expansion of entry and exit restrictions worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a significant reduction in flights, large-scale repatriations like before have become difficult.

Despite the difficult situation, the police are exploring various solutions to repatriate criminals who fled overseas. A representative case is Mr. Kim (42), who was repatriated from Cambodia on May 23. Mr. Kim conspired with former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, a key figure in the Lime Fund scandal, embezzled 24.1 billion KRW from Suwon Passenger Company, and fled for over a year before surrendering to the Cambodian Immigration Office and being repatriated to South Korea. Behind this was the active role of the local police attach?. After locating Mr. Kim's whereabouts, the police persuaded him to surrender for three weeks and coordinated with Cambodian authorities to expedite repatriation by bypassing immigration procedures.

Additionally, seven voice phishing suspects were sequentially repatriated in July and August. They are accused of defrauding about 20 billion KRW from around 200 people by impersonating banks in voice phishing scams during 2017-2018. The police arrested them in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, in November last year through cooperation with Chinese public security and have been negotiating their repatriation. Although the spread of COVID-19 in China caused difficulties in repatriation, the police ultimately succeeded in bringing all of them back to South Korea. A British national who illegally filmed Korean women in busy areas of Seoul was also repatriated from Denmark through international judicial cooperation.

The police are also making efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by repatriated fugitives. Upon arrival at the airport, they undergo immediate COVID-19 testing; if positive, they receive quarantine treatment. If negative, they are quarantined in the detention center of the relevant police station and investigations proceed normally. Since most fugitives abroad have arrest warrants issued, there is no problem detaining them in custody. A police official emphasized, "Although the environment is challenging, we will continue to track down and arrest criminals who fled overseas until the end."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.