The drug kingpin Park Wang-yeol, who served as the real-life motive for films such as The Roundup and the drama Big Bet, was repatriated to Korea after nine years imprisoned in the Philippines, bringing renewed attention to the SBS program Kkokkomu.
At about 6:34 a.m. on the 25th, the plane carrying Park Wang-yeol landed at Incheon International Airport. It was the first repatriation after nine years of government efforts and came about three weeks after President Lee Jae-myung requested extradition during a summit with the Philippines earlier this month.
In a briefing on Park Wang-yeol's repatriation, the Ministry of Justice said it was able to secure approval for extradition after repeatedly conducting close practical consultations despite earlier Philippine refusals of extradition requests, and said it plans to work on recovering criminal proceeds and negotiating an extension of the extradition period.
Park Wang-yeol was a key figure in the 2016 "sugarcane field murder" in the Philippines in which three Koreans were killed. After committing fraudulent fund-raising crimes worth about 15 billion won in Korea, he fled to the Philippines, murdered three Koreans in a sugarcane field in Bacolod City, Philippines, and embezzled 720 million won in casino investment funds he had received from them after the crime.
After escaping prison twice locally and ultimately being sentenced to 60 years on murder and other charges, Park Wang-yeol continued to spark controversy by living lavishly in prison and being caught distributing large quantities of drugs to Korea via Telegram, among other actions. The government, concerned that judicial justice would be undermined and that other overseas prisoners might imitate such crimes, pushed for a swift repatriation.
In the wake of Park Wang-yeol's repatriation after nine years, the SBS program Kkokkomu is receiving renewed attention. Kkokkomu produced a special series, "Special: Target K," that aired from Jan. 8 to 29 after a string of crimes targeting Koreans in places such as Cambodia.
The protagonist of part one of "Special: Target K" was the drug kingpin Park Wang-yeol. With actors Chun Woo-hee and Seo Hyun-chul and singer Lee Ki-chan appearing as listeners, Detective Lee Ji-hoon, who helped capture Park Wang-yeol locally in the Philippines, appeared on the program and vividly recounted the situation at the time. Regarding Park Wang-yeol's shocking actions, Lee Ki-chan said, "It was unimaginable when we were young," and "Is this really our country?" while clicking his tongue.
At the time, Kkokkomu hosts Jang Hyun-sung, Jang Do-youn and Jang Seongkyu said, "Shouldn't we, through relentless diplomatic efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice at the government level, bring him to a Korean court?" and "If that day comes, won't it put a period on this case?"
About two months after Kkokkomu aired the episode on Park Wang-yeol, his repatriation to Korea has taken place, and the program is being reexamined as an example of a variety show's positive role.
Meanwhile, the transnational crime special response task force, composed of the Ministry of Justice and the Korean National Police Agency, plans to begin judicial processing procedures immediately upon receiving custody of Park Wang-yeol.
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