Even if escaped 'Kim Mi-young Team Leader' is caught... Difficult to extradite domestically

Police "Tracking in progress... Possibility of stowaway not ruled out"
Even if caught, repatriation is difficult... Overseas repatriation delays 'trick'

Park Mo, the mastermind of a voice phishing organization notorious as the so-called ‘Team Leader Kim Mi-young,’ escaped from a local prison in the Philippines. Although local authorities and the South Korean government have responded, it is expected to be difficult to repatriate Park even if he is captured. This is because he is likely to be sentenced to imprisonment locally due to the serious violation of local law by escaping prison.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police Agency on the 12th, Park was indicted on charges of illegal employment and human trafficking and was imprisoned in Camarines Sur Prison in Naga City, Philippines, in November last year. However, it is known that he escaped along with his close aide Shin Mo (41) during the process of being transferred back to prison after attending a trial at a local court earlier this month.

The voice phishing organization leader Park Mo, notorious as "Team Leader Kim Mi-young" [Image source=Yonhap News]

The government received intelligence that Park and his group’s movements were suspicious and warned the prison twice, in December last year and last month, about the possibility of an escape, urging thorough management and supervision. However, it is reported that the Philippine correctional authorities only realized that Park and his group had disappeared during a headcount on the 2nd.

The National Police Agency is closely tracking Park in cooperation with the Philippine police and the Department of Justice Immigration Bureau. A police official said, “The involvement of the Philippine Department of Justice Immigration Bureau means that this matter is being taken seriously,” and added, “We will make every effort to apprehend him as quickly as possible.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated, “The local embassy has been continuously consulting with Philippine authorities for the swift capture of Park since immediately recognizing his prison escape.”

The police believe that Park is still in the Philippines considering his base and living range, but they are not ruling out the possibility of illegal departure.

Park, who worked as a police officer in South Korea, was dismissed in 2008 due to issues including bribery charges. In 2012, he opened a call center in the Philippines and committed voice phishing crimes. The organization led by Park sent text messages under the name ‘Team Leader Kim Mi-young’ to unspecified many people and pretended to provide loan consultations through an automatic response system (ARS), extracting personal information from victims and embezzling hundreds of billions of won.

Even after many members of Park’s organization were arrested and detained in 2013, he continued to live in hiding until he was captured locally in the Philippines in October 2021. Since then, the National Police Agency has been pushing for Park’s forced repatriation, but it is known that he delayed repatriation by committing additional crimes and receiving sentences.

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