More than 1,000 South Korean criminals were detained in foreign countries as of the end of August this year, the Foreign Ministry has said.
According to a ministry report submitted to the National Assembly, 1,306 South Korean nationals were in prison in 43 foreign countries.
The report showed that 557 of them, or 42.6 percent, were in Japan, 284 in China, and 272 in the United States.
Of them, 220 were imprisoned for drug-related crimes, 201 for murder, and 39 for sex crimes.
Only 14 criminals have been repatriated to South Korea since 2005, the report said.