Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Korean man nabbed in Philippines over fake US dollar bills
The bills in the photo are unrelated to the story. gettyimagesbank
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
A Korean man has been nabbed in the Philippines on suspicion of possessing counterfeit U.S. dollar bills amounting to $288,700.
According to
, the Korean, 53, surnamed Song, was apprehended with two other suspects ― a Chinese man and a dismissed local police officer ― at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City on May 15 after trying to buy casino chips with fake money.
After receiving a call from a staff member who found the bills suspicious, police detained the three.
Two days later, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) warned the public of bogus bills.
“We advise the residents to carefully examine their bills, so as not to be victimized by this illegal activity. We also call on the public to call the authorities for information that will lead to the arrest of those behind this counterfeit money. We already coordinated this with the U.S. Embassy for their assistance,” NCRPO Director Guillermo Eleazar told the Philippine News Agency.
“We also remind the public to be wary of transactions involving foreign currency. When in doubt, show it to authorities to determine if the currency genuine or not.”
The former police officer was dismissed last April after being demoted for violating a law. It is unclear what charges he faced.
Police suspect the counterfeit money came from another Korean man, surnamed Park, who is being investigated.