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Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, right, chairs the anti-terror committee's meeting at the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun District on Monday. Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Six migrant workers have been deported this year over allegations they supported international terrorist groups.
This followed a joint operation by South Korea's top law enforcers.
Police, prosecutors, the national intelligence service and the justice ministry discovered evidence that the suspects endorsed the terrorist groups "beyond curiosity" and shared information about them with others.
The information came to light in a report revealed during the national anti-terror committee's regular meeting at the Seoul Government Complex on Monday. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon presided over it.
Another report said a Syrian migrant worker was arrested in Incheon for inciting co-workers to join extreme Islamic terrorist group ISIS. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's international criminal investigation bureau arrested the man, 33, for showing ISIS promotional video clips to the workers and encouraging them to join it. The authority sent his case to prosecutors early this month.
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Specialist anti-terror police train at the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza in December 2017. The demonstration was prepared by the central government's anti-terror committee, police, the firefighting authority, military authorities and the Olympic organizing committee. Korea Times file |
The Syrian is the first to be charged under the nation's anti-terror laws that were introduced in 2016 to thwart domestic aggression.
Incheon police also confiscated over 17,500 illegal weapons this year and, with the help of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, shut down 65 websites that showed how to make firearms or explosives.
Monday's meeting outlined further anti-terror measures to be implemented by the national police, the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. These include boosting security at international airports, expanding safety cameras near explosive storages and increasing regulation of retailers handling virtual currencies to prevent terrorists funneling funds.
The meeting also designated 15 events to be held in Korea next year, including the 18th FINA world swimming championships in Gwangju, as top priorities to safeguard from possible terrorist attacks.