A so-called "drug kingpin," a person surnamed Park (48) who committed crimes including distributing drugs from the Philippines to Korea, boarded a passenger plane early on the 25th and is being extradited to Korea. While imprisoned in a local prison on a murder charge, Park still distributed drugs domestically, and President Lee Jae-myung asked the Philippine side earlier this month to extradite Park.
The Ministry of Justice said this morning that the government's "transnational crime special response task force (TF)" received Park on a temporary extradition from the Philippine authorities. Park boarded a passenger plane departing Angeles, Philippines, at 2:35 a.m., and is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport at about 6:40 a.m.
◇ Effectively life without parole for the "sugarcane field murder case," the motif for the drama "Casino"
In Apr. 2022, a Philippine court sentenced Park to a minimum of 52 years and a maximum of 60 years in prison for the "sugarcane field murder case," and Park had been serving time. If Park serves 52 years, parole can be applied for; if not paroled, release comes after 60 years. Given Park's age, it is effectively a life sentence.
The sugarcane field murder case occurred in Oct. 2016. In Aug. of the same year, Park set up an unauthorized investment scheme and, after being pursued by Korean police on suspicion of embezzling about 15 billion won, became acquainted with three Koreans who had fled to the Philippines. The three invested in Park's casino gambling hall (junket room) business. When they kept meddling in the business, Park, together with a person identified as A (43), kidnapped them, shot them dead in a sugarcane field near Angeles, and hid the bodies at the scene. The case became the motif for the Disney+ drama "Casino."
The crime was uncovered through an investigation by Korean police officers dispatched to the Philippines and local police. A was arrested by Korean authorities, sentenced to 30 years in prison, and is serving time. However, Park escaped twice from facilities including an immigration detention center in Manila. Park was re-arrested by Philippine police in Oct. 2020 and was sentenced to prison by a local court.
◇ President Lee asked the Philippines for extradition… "I heard he even calls his girlfriend into the prison to hang out"
In addition to casino gambling, Park was involved in manufacturing drugs such as methamphetamine across Southeast Asia and smuggled and sold them in Korea. There were also claims that about half of Southeast Asian drugs flowing into Korea went through Park.
According to police, Park used the mobile messenger Telegram for drug distribution. Even after being imprisoned, Park reportedly used Telegram to bring narcotics into Korea.
Park was said to have used names such as "Drug King Worldwide" on Telegram. Park supplied narcotics on Telegram to A, who used the name "Vatican Kingdom," and A was found to have supplied drugs to celebrities, including Hwang Hana, a granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products.
Park's case surfaced earlier this month. President Lee Jae-myung directly requested Park's temporary extradition from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a Korea-Philippines summit on the 3rd. The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Intelligence Service, Prosecution Service, and Korean National Police Agency coordinated with Philippine authorities and received Park on temporary extradition in about three weeks.
At a meeting with Korean residents held at a hotel in downtown Manila, President Lee also said, "There is a person named Park *-yeol who murdered three Koreans and, while imprisoned in a Philippine prison, keeps exporting drugs to Korea using Telegram. I heard he even calls his girlfriend into the prison to hang out."
◇ The first temporary extradition criminal case from the Philippines was the motif for "The Roundup"
Park, who was temporarily extradited by the Philippines to Korea, is expected to be investigated by police and prosecutors on drug-related charges and then sent to trial. The subsequent procedures appear not yet finalized.
Temporary extradition is a system in which the requested state suspends its own trial or sentence execution procedures and temporarily surrenders a fugitive at the request of the state seeking extradition to proceed with its criminal process.
Previously, in Jan. 2015, Korea repatriated a person surnamed Kim (56), who committed the "Anyang currency exchange office murder case" and the "Philippine serial kidnapping case," through temporary extradition. In 2007, Kim and accomplices brutally murdered a female employee at a currency exchange office in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, stole about 185 million won in cash, fled to the Philippines, and there committed serial kidnappings and armed robberies and murders of Korean tourists. The case also became material for the film "The Roundup."
Kim was arrested by Philippine police in Dec. 2011, escaped from prison, and was re-arrested in May 2012. On charges including carrying a firearm, Kim was sentenced in May 2014 to a minimum of 4 years and 2 months and a maximum of 5 years and 4 months, and while serving time, was temporarily extradited to Korea in May 2015.
Korean investigative authorities arrested and indicted Kim on charges including robbery-murder, and the court sentenced Kim to life imprisonment. Under the Korea-Philippines extradition treaty, a temporarily extradited fugitive must be returned to the Philippines once the sentence is finalized in a Korean court. After sentence execution is completed there, Korea executes its sentence.
The Ministry of Justice, viewing the risk of further escape during retransfer as high due to Kim's two prior escapes in the Philippines, sought final extradition to execute the life sentence in Korea. With the consent of the Philippine authorities, the Ministry of Justice finally took custody of Kim in Jan. last year.