Kidnappers have local ties; Sokor aid sought

Last month’s kidnapping of a Korean tourist by fellow Koreans in Cebu City wasn’t an isolated incident as far as the country is concerned, said a top South Korean official yesterday.

Cebu Korean Association Inc. Vice President Charlie Shin said the kidnapping of Kwon Young Hoon last Aug. 21 was the second that involved Korean captors in the country this year.

The first incident happened in Cavite province last May, he said.

Shin said Kwon’s kidnapping and eventual release last Aug. 23 only dramatized the Korean community’s need to set up a consulate that would attend to the needs of the 15,000 South Koreans living in Cebu.

“I’m ashamed and embarrassed that this happened and it’s involving Korean to Korean… I don’t want any of this to happen in Cebu again. That’s why from now on, our association will (establish a strong) network to prevent a repeat of that incident,” Shin said.

Of the 15,000 living in Cebu, about 200 to 300 South Koreans are married to Cebuanas, Shin said.

He said a Korean whom he identified only as “Mr. No” was taken by the same Koreans who seized Kwon at the Mango Square Mall in Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City.

Wanted

Shin told Cebu Daily News that the group that kidnapped Kwon are targeting traveling Korean nationals aged 30 to 35 years old.

Two of Kwon’s captors face kidnap for ransom charges before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

Shin said the two suspects identified as Kim Jong Seok and Choi Se Yong were already wanted in their country since 2008 for separate crimes they have committed.

He said their government is closely coordinating with law enforcement authorities and even Interpol for the capture of Kim and Choi.

Shin said Choi may have left for Malaysia after the crime while Kim may still be in the country.

Shin said Kim, who was married to a Filipina, had been hiding in the country since 2008.

Shin said the third suspect was identified as Kim Song Kon.

Shin asked that the profile of the suspects not be released to avoid compromising the search for their whereabouts.

Hooked up

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) and other law enforcement agencies are now coordinating with their counterparts in other regions to locate the suspects.

Chief Insp. Fermin Armendarez of CIDG-7 said they will check if Kim Jong Seok and Choi Se Yong have pending kidnap cases here in the country and even in South Korea.

With most of the Korean population hooked up in the Internet, Shin said the kidnappers  find their victims like Kwon online.

Shin said Kwon was invited by one of his captors to visit Cebu by his South Korean contact.

Kwon, who drank with his contact at Mango Square Mall, boarded a Starex van that was also boarded by two Koreans minutes later.

The Koreans later mauled him and brought him to a safehouse in barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City.

Kwon was forced to raise ransom money from friends and contacts in South Korea who deposited US $7,000 in his account.

His captors withdrew the money in Cebu and Kwon was later brought to a taxi, which dropped him off at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

Largest market

Shin said 1,000 to 5,000 Korean tourists visit Cebu monthly, making them the biggest market in Cebu.

The Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) reported that most international flights came by way of South Korea with Incheon Metropolitan City having 37 flights a week.

A Korean airline company, also in May, opened a regular flight to Busan City.

From being a chartered flight before, Air Busan now has a Busan to Cebu regular route, four times a week.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said South Korea is the country’s largest foreign tourist market with 740,622 visitors.

The figure is 21 percent of the record 3.52 million foreign visitors that dropped by the country last year.

A total of 429,569 Korean visitors visited the country from January to June this year, registering a 28.76 percent growth over the same period last year.

Advisories

Shin said the growth of Korean tourists is a major concern of the association since they would have a hard time checking on them.

He said this is the reason why they need to set up a consulate in Cebu.

Shin said they already requested the South Korean government to fund the establishment of a consulate in Cebu.

In the meantime, he said they post reminders and advisories to Korean tourists through their websites.

Shin said he is thankful to Cebu’s police for helping their nationals.

He said despite his traumatic experience, Kwon told him that he would still want to return to Cebu.

Shin said Kwon told him that he never got the chance to tour the province.

“The next time he’ll come back, he’s not afraid anymore. He wants to know how beautiful Cebu is,” Shin said. With Correspondent Chito Aragon