Soldiers recover body after release of 3 Koreans

Government troops have recovered the decomposing body of a person believed to be the guide of three Koreans who were kidnapped and released last week in Lanao del Sur.

“We believe this is the body of Junnie Ongie,” said Brigadier General Ronald Amarelli, chief of Task Force Makalintad. It was found in Barangay (village) Diguanan in Madamba town late Sunday afternoon.

The Koreans said their abductors killed Ongie.

Amarelli said they were still contacting the guide’s relatives in El Salvador town in Misamis Oriental to identify the body.

On Friday, one of the victims, Choi Inn So, was abandoned by the kidnappers in Barangay Kalimudan in Salvador, Lanao del Norte. His compatriots, Wu Seok-bung and Kim Nam-du, were freed in the same village the next day.

Their release came following negotiations initiated by former Salvador Mayor Sultan Johnny Tawantawan.

It was not certain if money had changed hands. The kidnappers, led by an alias “Pogi,” had earlier demanded P50 million in ransom.

Two Filipinos were earlier reported to have been abducted with the Koreans. But Amarelli said the Filipinos were among the kidnappers.

The Koreans traveled to Lanao del Norte on October 21 after a local contact reportedly told them about a possible mining site.

Soon Chul Jung, South Korean consul, arrived in Iligan City on Sunday afternoon and met with the kidnap victims. He said they were fugitives in their country but would not elaborate on their cases. Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao