Wanted fugitive Korean arrested in Parañaque

Bureau of Immigration (BI) operatives arrested a 33-year-old Korean scammer wanted for at least 40 crimes in South Korea.

According to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, Lim Jong Keon was arrested last June 8 inside a condominium in Sucat, Parañaque by the bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU).

Morente said Lim is the subject of an Interpol notice and has been tagged as one of South Korea’s most wanted criminals due to the large number of people he had victimized.

Morente added Lim will be deported on request of the Korean Embassy in Manila which informed the BI of Lim’s pending cases in Korean courts where he was charged with large-scale fraud.

BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval disclosed Lim sold non-existent Smart phones and other retail items to Koreans via his web portal and pocketed the money remitted to his account by hundreds of unsuspecting victims.

Sandoval said no fewer than 381 individuals were already victimized by Lim’s racket which resulted in the cases filed against him.

She added reports from Korean authorities said he had already scammed more than 150 million won and has been wanted in Korea since 2013. He faces a possible 10-year imprisonment.

Morente commended the BI-FSU for another successful operation against a foreign fugitive.

He stressed they had strengthened their FSU and coordinated with Interpol and other foreign governments to ensure fugitives will not use the country in eluding arrest.

Lim’s passport has already been cancelled by the Korean government. He has been detained at the BI’s Detention Facility pending his deportation.