The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has launched a nationwide manhunt for two South Korean fugitives who escaped from a detention facility in Muntinlupa City on New Year’s Day.

BI commissioner Joel Anthony Viado on Friday identified the men as Lee Jingyu and Yang Heejun, and both are facing deportation cases and are the subjects of Interpol red notices.

Reports disclosed that the escape was discovered during a routine inspection at the Bureau of Immigration Warden’s Facility on 1 January 2026.

Security personnel found a rope tied to the rear of a ward gate. A subsequent headcount confirmed that Lee and Yang were missing, prompting an immediate lockdown of the facility.

Lee was arrested in Pasay City on 17 November for allegedly smuggling approximately 3 kilograms of suspected shabu in 2024. He has prior convictions for aggravated assault and was tagged by the bureau as an undesirable and overstaying alien.

Yang, on the other hand, was arrested in Angeles City, Pampanga, in 2022. He is wanted in South Korea for burglary and theft. Bureau records show Yang was previously implicated in an attempted drug smuggling incident inside the detention center in 2022.

Viado said the agency is coordinating with the Bureau of Corrections and the National Bureau of Investigation to track the men.

“We will not stop until they have been located so they can be made to face their crimes,” Viado said, adding that both men pose a serious risk to public safety.