Police have applied for an arrest warrant for Park Wang-yeol, the so-called "Philippine drug king," who smuggled drugs from overseas and sold them.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's Metropolitan Crime Investigation Unit said on the 26th it applied for an arrest warrant for Park Wang-yeol, 47, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act.
Park is accused of instructing an accomplice in June 2024 to hide 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in coffee pouches in the Philippines and smuggle it into Incheon Airport. In July of the same year, Park is also accused of having an unidentified foreign national hand a suitcase containing 3.1 kilograms of methamphetamine to an accomplice for smuggling into Gimhae Airport from South Africa.
There are also allegations that, from Nov. 2019 to 2020, drugs were concealed and sold in fire hydrants and mailboxes around Seoul, Busan, and Daegu through domestic accomplices. The accomplices were found to have carried out the crimes under instructions from Park via Telegram and other means.
Park operated in the Philippines under the nickname "Jeon Segye." Park was extradited to Korea from the Philippines on the 25th. After the arrest, police collected hair and urine samples from Park for drug testing and requested a detailed analysis from the National Forensic Service. Two mobile phones used by Park were also seized, and forensic work is underway.
Police questioned Park from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. the day before Park was extradited, and resumed questioning at 8 a.m. that day. Park is said to be admitting most of the charges. Park initially said through family that a lawyer would be appointed, but no lawyer has been retained so far.
Police had been investigating the accomplices even before Park was extradited to Korea. The investigation found that the drugs funneled into Korea through Park included 4.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, about 4,500 tablets of ecstasy, 2 kilograms of ketamine, 19 tabs of LSD, and 3.99 grams of marijuana, with an estimated street value of 3 billion won.
The total number of domestic accomplices is 236. They were categorized as 29 managers and sellers, 10 suppliers, 2 smugglers, 1 financier, and 194 simple buyers, of whom 42 have been arrested. It was found that the accomplices accessed Telegram channels run directly by Park or subchannels to participate in the crimes.
Police believe Park obtained criminal revenue in the form of no-account deposits or virtual assets such as coins, and are conducting a parallel investigation into this as well.
A police official said, "We are conducting intensive questioning of Park Wang-yeol every day after the extradition," adding, "We are investigating whether there are other criminal patterns in the relationships between the existing accomplices and Park Wang-yeol."