438 fugitives repatriated from overseas, more than half of them over fraud charges

Police repatriates the main suspect accused of handing out drug-spiked beverages to a dozen students at a private academy in Seoul, Incheon International Airport, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, Dec. 26. Yonhap

A total of 438 Korean fugitives have been repatriated from overseas between January and November, more than half of them over fraud charges, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday.

The number represents a 21.3 percent jump from the same period last year.

The repatriated fugitives were aged between 21 and 83, with their average age 44, and 90 percent of them, or 394 people, were men.

By crime type, 55.9 percent, or 245 people, were charged with fraud, followed by 14.8 percent, or 65 people, with cyber gambling, and seven percent, or 31 people, with violent crimes, including assault and robbery, according to police data.

The fugitives have been on the run for eight years and eight months on average.

One of the repatriated fugitives was the main suspect in the handing out of drug-spiked drinks to students in Seoul's Gangnam Ward in April. He was brought back home earlier this week, nearly eight months after he fled to China.

An NPA official said they have established a system to swiftly repatriate and round up major fugitives who fled overseas and vowed to keep up the active cooperation with foreign investigative forces to secure public safety and international public order. (Yonhap)