The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has deported a South Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in Seoul for allegedly operating an illegal gambling web site.
Immigration Port Operations chief Grifton Medina identified the Korean national as 35-year-old Jung Hyeongwook, who left the country last September 3 aboard a Philippine Airlines flight to Pusan.
He said Jung was deported a few days after he surrendered to the Korean Embassy in Manila, which earlier canceled his passport.
The passenger was reportedly issued a temporary travel document by the embassy to facilitate his departure and was later arrested upon his arrival in South Korea.
“I’ve recommended to Commissioner [Jaime] Morente that Jung be included in our blacklist to prevent him from reentering the country,” Medina said. It was learned that Jung, who is being prosecuted in Seoul for violating his country’s National Sports Promotion Act, was subject of a red notice issued by the Interpol last July 16.
Citing information obtained from the Korean police, the BI-Interpol said that between October 2015 and March 2016, Jung allegedly operated an illegal gambling web site called pony–ber1.com which provided sports betting facility to members. Jung and his cohorts allegedly collected betting money from the members and pocketed nearly $6 million from the online gambling racket.
The fugitive may be sentenced up to a maximum jail term of seven years if convicted, Medina said.