Chinese murder suspect who hid in S. Korea for 29 years caught, deported

A Chinese national wanted on an Interpol red notice for armed robbery and murder has been arrested in South Korea, 29 years after committing the crime.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said Tuesday it arrested the man, a Chinese national in his 50s, on July 24 on charges of violating immigration law and deported him with the assistance of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.

The man is accused of robbing a taxi driver and stabbing him to death in China in March 1997, along with two accomplices.

Chinese investigators cracked the case 24 years later, arresting one of the accomplices in September 2021 through DNA analysis. The accomplice's testimony led authorities to identify the suspect.

Investigators determined that the man had entered South Korea in 2017 on a seafarer visa (E-10). After confirming he was still in the country, Chinese authorities asked South Korean police to cooperate in an international investigation.

Police designated the case a priority investigation and found that the man had remained in South Korea illegally for five years after his visa expired, working day labor jobs while evading capture.

Officers analyzed bank account records and CCTV footage, then staked out the area near his residence for several days before apprehending him.

The suspect had taken careful steps to avoid detection — he avoided using a mobile phone or bank account registered in his name and consistently wore a mask in public.

An official from China's Ministry of Public Security said the Gyeonggi Nambu agency's "persistent pursuit" had brought the armed robber and murderer to justice, adding that China would "further strengthen cooperation between the two countries' investigative agencies and actively support international law enforcement collaboration."

A South Korean police official said the agency would "strengthen its international investigative capabilities to apprehend domestic and overseas fugitives who threaten the rule of law" and planned to expand the scope of cooperation among government agencies.