Police Forcefully Repatriate Suspect Involved in Over 14 Billion Won Virtual Asset Hacking from the Philippines

Suspect A, involved in a virtual asset hacking case worth approximately 14 billion KRW, who was apprehended through cooperation between the Philippine Korean Desk and local judicial authorities, is being forcibly repatriated to South Korea via Incheon International Airport on the 23rd. /Photo by the National Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency announced on the 23rd that the Philippine Korean Desk forcibly repatriated suspect A, who was arrested in cooperation with local judicial authorities for hacking virtual assets worth 14 billion won, through Incheon International Airport.

According to the police, A is an internet-based information technology (IT) technician suspected of hacking the victim's virtual assets with domestic accomplices earlier this year. He is also suspected of laundering the proceeds by withdrawing the hacked virtual assets locally after leaving for the Philippines prior to the crime.

The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency identified two hideouts of the suspect in the Philippines and requested international cooperation from the National Police Agency for his arrest. The National Police Agency applied for an Interpol Red Notice for A and instructed the Philippine Korean Desk to track him. The Korean Desk then confirmed the two identified hideouts of the suspect and, while lying in wait nearby, arrested the suspect in cooperation with local police when he appeared.

Kang Gitaek, head of the Interpol International Cooperation Division at the National Police Agency, said, "This is an excellent case where our police's cyber investigation capabilities and the Korean Desk's international cooperation capabilities rose together to apprehend an overseas fugitive in a short period." He added, "Given the nature of hacking crimes, it is significant in that it prevented the possibility of additional damage."

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