No. of Koreans imprisoned overseas up 25 % in 4 yrs: lawmaker

Korean nationals detained in Cambodia in relation to online job scams return to Korea through Incheon International Airport, Jan. 23. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-yeon

The number of Korean citizens imprisoned overseas has jumped more than 25 percent over the past four years, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday, citing data from the foreign ministry.

Rep. Kim Joon-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said 1,325 Korean nationals were held in prisons across 54 countries as of the end of June this year, a 25.6 percent increase from 1,055 tallied in 2022.

By country, China topped the list with 424 cases, followed by Japan with 254, Vietnam with 204, the United States with 138, the Philippines with 61, Cambodia with 54 and Thailand with 43.

Vietnam saw the sharpest increase, with the number of imprisoned Koreans rising nearly fivefold from 42 in 2022 to 204 this year.

Of the total, fraud accounted for about a quarter with 332 cases, followed by drug-related crimes with 291, murder with 128, gambling with 91, theft with 69 and sexual assault or harassment with 52.

Thirty-four Koreans were also incarcerated on charges of kidnapping linked to organized crimes, including employment scams.