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Banker who stole $800,000 caught after 18 years on the run

Published: 27 Jun. 2025, 13:15

Police arrest an embezzlement suspect and an online gambling operator in the Philippines and forcibly repatriate them to Korea on the morning of June 27. [KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY]

After nearly two decades on the run, a former bank employee who embezzled 1.1 billion won ($811,600) from a commercial bank and fled to the Philippines was extradited to Korea on Friday, 18 years after his escape. He was sharing a flight with another high-profile fugitive: the alleged mastermind of a 16 billion won online gambling operation.

The Korean National Police Agency said the two men — a 57-year-old ex-loan officer and a 41-year-old gambling ring operator — were repatriated after being apprehended separately in the Philippines in recent months.

The former banker fled Korea in 2007 after forging loan documents to siphon funds from a commercial bank. He remained at large until September 2024, when he visited the Philippine Bureau of Immigration to obtain administrative documents, where his Interpol Red Notice status was flagged.

He arrived in Korea in handcuffs at Incheon International Airport on Friday morning. The Seocho Police Precinct in southern Seoul plans to detain and investigate him.

The second fugitive has allegedly run a sprawling online gambling empire out of the Philippines since 2015 with six accomplices, amassing over 16 billion won in illegal wagers.

He was apprehended in March following a coordinated operation involving Korean police, the Korean Desk in the Philippines and Philippine immigration authorities, who tracked him through vehicle surveillance. With his extradition, the South Jeolla Police Agency's cybercrime unit said it has dismantled the entire operation.

The Korean National Police Agency said the decision to extradite both men simultaneously was made in consultation with the Korean Embassy in the Philippines, taking into account the severity and scale of their crimes as well as the length of their time on the run.

The extraditions are part of a wider campaign launched by the police on April 1 to apprehend and repatriate fugitives abroad through Interpol.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]