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Park Wang-yeol was serving a 60-year sentence for a triple murder in the Philippines
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean police on Wednesday, March 15, detained an alleged “drug kingpin” accused of running a narcotics operation in the country from a prison in the Philippines, officials said Wednesday.
Park Wang-yeol, who was serving a 60-year term for triple murder, was flown to South Korea on Wednesday for temporary extradition, after President Lee Jae-myung requested his extradition to the President of the Philippines. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at a summit earlier this month.
A temporary clause under the agreement between the two countries suspends the sentence in the Philippines to allow the suspect to be investigated in South Korea, foreign and justice ministry officials in Seoul said.
South Korean authorities have said Park, believed to be 47, ran a company that allegedly smuggled “a large amount” of drugs and conspired with his associates in the country to distribute them.
Ministry of Justice and police officials declined to comment on the size or value of Park’s alleged drug trade. Some South Korean media reported that he has been distributing approximately 60 kilograms of methamphetamine per month with a street value of 30 billion won ($20 million).
Illegal drug use in South Korea has increased rapidly despite a strict anti-drug policy and crackdown on the import and sale of illegal drugs.
President Lee thanked Marcos for Park’s return and said the country “will expel anyone who harms the country until the end of the world.”
It was important to ensure Park was investigated and prosecuted in South Korea so that her alleged involvement in illegal activities while in prison abroad would not set an example for potential criminals to imitate, the foreign ministry said separately in a statement.
Park had escaped from a Philippine prison twice, taking advantage of poor inmate supervision that allowed some inmates to use contraband phones and continue illegal activities, Justice Ministry official Lee Ji-yeon and police officer Yoo Seung-ryeol told the conference.
Philippine government officials could not immediately be reached for comment. – Rappler.com
($1 = 1,498.3700 won)
