In Manila, a South Korean fugitive named Bae Naseok was arrested at the Bureau of Immigration’s head office in Intramuros while attempting to extend his tourist visa. The arrest occurred on Wednesday, as confirmed by Raymond Remigio, the Chief of the BI’s Tourist Visa Extension section, in a statement released on Thursday. Bae, aged 30, was apprehended by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit after his derogatory records were verified.
Upon Bae’s attempt to extend his visa, BI officers discovered that he was on both a watchlist and a blacklist. He is classified as an undesirable alien and a public safety risk, wanted in South Korea for fraud. An Interpol notice from Seoul confirmed his fugitive status and the existence of an arrest warrant in his home country.
Bae is accused of impersonating a victim’s child via a mobile messaging app. He allegedly directed the victim to install a remote access app on their phone, which compromised the victim’s mobile banking security. This allowed Bae to fraudulently transfer approximately KRW15 million, or about USD10,430, from the victim’s account to his own.
Following his arrest, Bae was moved to the BI’s facility in Bicutan, Taguig, where he will be held pending his deportation.