"Drug kingpin" Park Wang-yeol, who bragged about partying with his girlfriend in a Philippine prison, finally extradited to Korea

[Financial News] Park Wang-yeol, the so-called "drug kingpin" who murdered three Koreans in the Republic of the Philippines in 2016 and continued to distribute large quantities of narcotics while in custody, was extradited to Korea and arrived at Incheon International Airport at about 6:41 a.m. on the 25th.
In April 2022, Park was sentenced by a Philippine court to a minimum of 52 years and a maximum of 60 years in prison for the Sugarcane Field Murders and had been serving his term there. The case involved the killing of three Korean partners in a casino business in 2016.
His extradition had been delayed for years due to local judicial procedures and complex diplomatic issues. However, at the South Korea–Philippines summit held this March, President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea personally asked Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for Park's temporary surrender, which led to his swift extradition just a month later.
In Korea, Park had run a multi-level financial fraud scheme before fleeing to the Republic of the Philippines, where he expanded his criminal activities to include murder and drug trafficking.
In 2011, Park worked as a recruiter for IDS Holdings, which defrauded 10,207 victims of 1.096 trillion won. As the investigation closed in on him, he fled to the Republic of the Philippines.
Afterward, while running a casino business in the Republic of the Philippines, Park and an accomplice surnamed Kim murdered three Koreans in October 2016. Those victims had fled Korea after committing an unauthorized deposit-taking scheme worth about 15 billion won, and Park and Kim killed them in a sugarcane field and dumped their bodies.
When the case was widely reported in the media in both Korea and the Republic of the Philippines, Park went into hiding. Thirty-seven days after the murders, he was arrested by a joint task force formed by Korean and Philippine police. His accomplice Kim, who had been on the run in Korea, was sentenced domestically to 30 years in prison and is still serving his term.
After being jailed locally for murder, Park attempted to break out of custody twice.
On March 6, 2017, he escaped from a local immigration detention center for foreigners but was recaptured after a little over three months. He was then detained again in the Republic of the Philippines on charges of murder and drug possession.
In October 2019, while imprisoned in Pampanga Province in northern Philippines, he escaped again while being transported back from a hearing at a district court in the Province of Tarlac nearby. He was arrested a year later, in October 2020.
After being sentenced locally to 60 years in prison and re-incarcerated, Park operated on Telegram under the handle "Jeon Segye" and used mobile phones to distribute large quantities of drugs into Korea. Those narcotics flowed into Vatican Kingdom, which was known as one of the largest drug suppliers in the country.
New Bilibid Prison, where Park was held, is known as a place where, with enough money, inmates can easily obtain drugs, food, and clothing and live in relative comfort as so-called "VIPs."
Park's luxurious prison life, during which he openly mocked Korea's judicial system, ultimately came to an end after Cheong Wa Dae, the Blue House, stepped in.
On the 4th, President Lee Jae-myung mentioned Park by name, saying, "It is said that this man is still exporting drugs to the Republic of Korea from inside prison. They say he even calls in his girlfriend to party with him."
The Special Task Force on Transnational Crimes, which includes the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), plans to immediately begin criminal proceedings as soon as they take custody of Park.
Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stated, "The extradition of Mr. Park demonstrates the government's strong resolve that criminals hiding overseas will inevitably pay the price for their crimes." She continued, "As soon as Park is brought back, we will fully uncover all of his criminal activities and relentlessly track down his accomplices and illicit gains to ensure strict punishment."
She added, "Going forward, the government will continue to respond to transnational crimes with a zero-tolerance policy and further strengthen international cooperation so that criminals will have nowhere to hide anywhere in the world."
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter