A Chinese national involved in illegal currency exchange worth 14.7 billion won was apprehended by the Seoul Customs after a significant oversight nearly allowed him to evade justice just before the statute of limitations.
The Democratic Party of Korea has finalized legal reforms to remove the supervisory provisions related to special judicial police officers amid concerns over their effectiveness. In this context, it was revealed that a Chinese fugitive implicated in a significant currency exchange scam was nearly missed by the Seoul Customs Special Judicial Police due to procedural errors. The authorities failed to track the suspect, who had traveled between South Korea and China multiple times despite being wanted, primarily due to incorrect personal information recorded in the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS).
On December 18, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office charged suspect 'A' with violating foreign exchange laws after he was accused of conducting approximately 14.7 billion won in illegal currency exchanges using the 'currency exchange method.' The case had been dormant since May 2021 when the Seoul Customs could not locate the suspect, leading to a suspension of prosecution. However, as the statute of limitations approached, the prosecutors conducted a review, which led to discovering the mishandled case.
The investigation uncovered that despite being on the wanted list, the suspect had crossed into South Korea more than ten times without authorities being informed due to a clerical error related to his date of birth in the APIS. Additionally, there was confusion arising from a mix of Korean and English names input into the system, which further complicated tracking efforts. Following the incident, the prosecutors ordered a review of the Seoul Customs department. During this examination, they found discrepancies in the records of other wanted individuals, highlighting systemic issues in information management that could hinder efforts to apprehend fugitives effectively.
