BI to deport South Korean telco scammer

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the arrest of a South Korean man wanted in Seoul for telecom fraud. BI noted that he would soon be deported and permanently barred from entering the Philippines.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the fugitive as Park Seul Ki, a 33-year-old who was apprehended on 12 August at his residence in a village in Parañaque City by operatives of the BI Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU).

Tansingco stated that Park was arrested on the strength of a warrant of deportation, which he issued in compliance with a summary deportation order from the BI board of commissioners in 2017, declaring Park an undesirable alien.

The BI chief added that Park had evaded capture for the past seven years, having fled to the Philippines to avoid prosecution for his crimes.

Park is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Hong Sung District Court and the Central District Prosecutor's Office in Seoul, according to Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB) in Manila. He was charged with fraud for violating Korea's telecommunications company legislation.

South Korean authorities accuse Park of being associated with a syndicate that uses voice-phishing to defraud its victims. Members of the syndicate allegedly posed as government investigators, deceiving victims into providing personal information for use in fraudulent activities.

The Korean government has already canceled Park's passport, making him an undocumented alien. Records show that he arrived in the Philippines in 2016 and has not left the country since.

Park is currently detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, where he will remain while awaiting his deportation proceedings.