AFP/Manila
One of South Korea’s most wanted fugitives, the alleged head of a major crime syndicate, was arrested in the Philippines yesterday after hiding out in the country for two years, officials said.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Cho Yang-Eun, 63, was arrested by immigration agents, saying he was the leader of a South Korean crime syndicate.
She said that Cho was “head of the Korean mafia, responsible for extorting and threatening fellow Koreans as per info (from the) embassy”. She did not elaborate.
Immigration Bureau spokeswoman Angelica Pedro told reporters that Cho had allegedly founded the Yangeuni Family, one of the biggest gangs in South Korea, in 1978.
A South Korean embassy representative said “he is indeed the Korean mafia head and he spearheaded many cases in Korea and the Korean government continuously requested his deportation”.