The prosecution has detected some 130 Korean-Chinese who falsified their identities and reentered Korea after being deported for having committed crimes or overstaying their visas.
It detained and indicted 11 of them while indicting 15 others without detention, officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Sunday. The office has put another four on its wanted list.
The rest were released after investigation for reasons that the investigators did not specify.
Prosecutors have increased efforts since April to find foreign nationals with criminal records who have entered the country illegally.
Their probe, with a particular focus on Korean-Chinese, came amid growing public anxiety about crimes by foreigners, they said. The most notable recent case was a murder in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, by Korean-Chinese Wu Yuanchuan in April.
He was convicted of murdering a 28-year-old woman and dismembering her body. A district court sentenced him to death earlier this month.
Investigators used their facial recognition system to analyze photos recorded on entry to the country against the prosecution’s mug shot database, they said.
“As China has a large population, its resident registration has not been thoroughly computerized. So, through brokers, (Korean-Chinese) were able to modify their personal records and obtain new passports,” a prosecution official told media.
By Song Sang-ho (
sshluck@heraldcorp.com)
