110 Foreign Fugitives Are Hiding in South Korea — And Police Just Revealed Where They Came From
More than 100 foreign nationals wanted for crimes committed overseas are currently believed to be hiding in South Korea, according to newly released police data that is raising fresh questions about international fugitive tracking and law-enforcement cooperation.
The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) reported that 110 foreign fugitives were identified in South Korea as of Aug. 12, 2026, based on information provided to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jun-hwan. The figures were first reported by The Korea Herald and have been corroborated by Yonhap and several major South Korean news outlets.
China accounts for the largest share
Among the 110 fugitives, 40 were individuals wanted through Interpol requests from China, representing about 36 percent of the total.
They were followed by nationals from Uzbekistan with 19 cases, Mongolia with 17 and Vietnam with 13. Other fugitives came largely from neighboring Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and Japan.
The figures do not mean that all 110 individuals are accused of the same type of crime. Their alleged offenses range from fraud and drug offenses to theft, assault and other serious crimes.
Fraud tops the list
Fraud was the most frequently reported offense, involving 47 of the 110 fugitives.
Another 29 cases fell under a broader category that included alleged violations involving the protection of children and adolescents, abduction, inducement, confinement and prostitution.
Police data also recorded seven drug-related cases, while theft, road-traffic violations, injury and assault each accounted for five cases.
One fugitive allegedly lived in Korea for years
The case has become particularly striking because some fugitives have apparently managed to remain in South Korea for extended periods.
Earlier in August, police in Gyeonggi Province arrested a Chinese man in his 50s who was allegedly wanted over a 1997 robbery-homicide in Tianjin, China.
According to South Korean reports, he entered Korea in 2017 and had been living there as an undocumented resident before being arrested and forcibly repatriated to China nearly three decades after the alleged crime.
South Korea expands its international fugitive team
South Korean authorities have also increased resources dedicated to tracking foreign fugitives.
The KNPA expanded the number of personnel responsible for international cooperation from 22 to 64 this year. Police-linked data show that foreign fugitives repatriated from South Korea increased from 13 last year to 24 during the first eight months of 2026, nearly doubling the previous figure.
The cooperation works both ways.
South Korean authorities have been working with foreign law-enforcement agencies to track Korean nationals who flee overseas after allegedly committing crimes. China, in particular, has cooperated in the pursuit of South Korean voice-phishing and scam suspects who fled to the country. A total of 192 South Korean fugitives were repatriated from China last year, according to the reported police data.
The bigger issue: international cooperation
The latest figures highlight the increasingly international nature of criminal investigations. Once Interpol cooperation requests are received, the Korean National Police Agency passes information to the relevant regional police agency, which then attempts to locate and arrest the suspected fugitive.
Officials and lawmakers say stronger international cooperation is essential because criminals can cross borders far faster than traditional investigations can sometimes follow.
Kim Jun-hwan called for additional personnel and funding dedicated to Interpol cooperation, arguing that fugitives accused of serious crimes should not be able to evade justice simply by relocating to another country.
For South Korea, the challenge now goes beyond finding the 110 fugitives already identified. Authorities must also determine whether stronger international information-sharing and expanded investigative resources can prevent other wanted suspects from using the country as a place to disappear.
WWC ONE MEDIA M.J.E