foreign fugitives-tally

▲ The Korean National Police Agency (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- More than 100 foreign nationals wanted for crimes overseas are currently hiding in South Korea, data showed Tuesday.

As of Aug. 12, 110 foreign fugitives had been residing in the country, according to the data provided by the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) to Rep. Kim Jun-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party.

By nationality, Chinese criminals placed on Interpol's notice were tallied at 40, accounting for the largest share of 36 percent, followed by Uzbekistan at 19 and Mongolia at 17.

Fraud was the most common offense at 47 cases. "Other" crimes, including kidnapping, confinement and sex trafficking, followed at 29 cases. The remaining types of offenses involved drugs, theft, traffic law violations and assault.

To tackle international fugitives, the KNPA expanded its dedicated workforce from 22 to 64 personnel this year, nearly doubling foreign fugitive repatriations from 13 last year to 24 between January and August this year.

Police said the strengthened international cooperation has also led to an increase in arrests of South Korean criminals who have fled overseas.

For example, Chinese authorities repatriated 192 South Korean fugitives last year, the data showed.

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