Two major fugitives have been forcibly extradited to South Korea following an international investigation by the National Police Agency. One man is accused of illegally posting approximately 15,000 copyrighted works, while the other is a member of a Cambodia-based romance scam ring.
The National Police Agency announced on Thursday that they extradited two major fugitives through Incheon International Airport. A man in his 40s, referred to as A, allegedly posted 15,863 copyrighted works illegally, including films, TV shows, and web novels. The other fugitive, a man in his 30s, referred to as B, operated a romance scam organization based in Cambodia.
Suspect A is charged with using automated programs to illegally upload copyrighted materials 15,863 times across 17 file-sharing websites from 2020 to 2024.
The National Police Agency selected this case as part of the Interpol Online Copyright Infringement Response Project (I-SOP), jointly initiated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in June. I-SOP is an international cooperation framework established in 2021 by the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Culture, and Interpol to actively combat copyright infringements of Korean content.
The National Police Agency strengthened cooperation by sharing this case with Interpol Vietnam during the 2025 International Copyright Protection Cooperation Conference. At the request of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, they issued an Interpol Red Notice for the suspects and listed them as targets for capture and extradition, maintaining ongoing surveillance. Consequently, Vietnamese authorities apprehended suspect A on October 6 in Khanh Hoa Province on charges of illegal residency.
Suspect B, extradited on the same day, allegedly defrauded approximately 4.6 billion KRW (about 3.14 million USD) from 192 victims. Working with 65 accomplices from last year to this year, they posed as women on social media to lure victims into fraudulent investment schemes.
To prevent the spread of scam operations from Cambodia to neighboring countries, the National Police Agency held a strategic meeting with police attachés from five Southeast Asian countries. They also sent letters from the acting police chief to law enforcement agencies in each country to bolster their response system. As a result, they apprehended five members of the scam organization, including B, in various regions of Vietnam on October 28.
Initially, B operated as a member of a romance scam ring based in the Bavet area of Cambodia. However, due to increased crackdowns in Cambodia, he illegally crossed into Vietnam by land last month.
Given the scale and severity of the suspects’ crimes, the National Police Agency coordinated with the South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnamese authorities to arrange swift extradition. They formed a joint extradition team with the Ministry of Culture, a participant in the I-SOP fund, enabling them to bring both suspects back to South Korea simultaneously.
Lee Jae-young, the International Cooperation Officer of the National Police Agency, stated, “Organized copyright infringement and romance scams occurring overseas directly harm our citizens. We will pursue these criminals relentlessly until justice is served. We will continue to strengthen cooperation with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Culture and Interpol, to enhance our system for combating transnational crime and extraditing fugitives.”
