Pakistani student probed for alleged terror plot

By Jung Min-ho

A Pakistani student attending Sungkyunkwan University is being investigated for allegedly having ties to Islamic terrorist groups, police said Thursday.

According to Suwon Jungbu Police Station, an anonymous person sent the school an email on Tuesday, claiming that the 30-year-old student belongs to a terrorist group and plans to bomb buildings soon.

Police immediately launched an investigation, quizzing him and searching his residence. But they have not yet found any evidence to support the allegations.

After searching through his emails, police believe his wife, who lives in Pakistan, tried to slander him. Police said they are getting a divorce.

“In his email box, we saw that she threatened him several times with messages,” one of the investigators told The Korea Times. “We are trying to figure out who sent the message to the school.”

Sponsored by the Pakistani government, the man came to Korea to study in March last year.

The incident occurred amid heightened concerns over the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that a Korean teenager voluntarily crossed the border into Syria early this month to join the ISIS.

However, no hard evidence has yet been found proving that Kim has joined ISIS.

From 2009 to August in 2014, 56 foreigners were deported on suspicion of having ties to terrorists, according to government data.

Among them, Bangladesh had the most with 16, followed by Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.

Some are concerned that such issues might portray Muslims negatively here.