Amongst expatriates South Koreans most definitely form the largest demographic in the Philippines. Given their geographic proximity on the Pacific Rim and their much higher standard of living than that of the Philippines, the Philippines naturally becomes a preferred destination for ambitious and somewhat adventurous Korean entrepeneurs. Officialy speaking of course the largest demographic is the Americans. The discrepancy hinges upon virtually all American visitors remaining on the right side of the Bureau of Immigration and its visa system. South Koreans on the other hand often don't bother with such niceties. Coming here to find their fortune, egged on by those that have come before, just about every major Philippine city has its large Korean Community.
With such a large and upwardly mobile population it only serves that South Koreans would be finding themselves victimised by predatory organisations, both KFR, or, Kidnap for Ransom, as well as extortion outfits dealing in protection rackets involving the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) to BI (Burea of Immigration).
Therefore it should come as no suprise that South Koreans end up being kidnapped from time to time. The latest incident revolves around three South Koreans:
1) Kim Nam Doo, age 48
2) Woo Seok Bung, age 60
3) Choi In Soo, age 53
who are reputed to be "Treasure Hunters" although the local media- what little attention has been offered- refer to the three as "Mining Inspectors." Treasure Hunters are the gullible souls who fall prey to stories about primitive tribesmen discovering hordes of precious metal or alternatively, crates of Bearer Bonds, et cetera, OR, fleeing Japanese soldiers secreting war booty that has somehow come to light. The tribesmen, being primitive, have no realisation of the value of the find and are, for example, willing to part with something worth 20 Million Pesos for a mere 1 Million Pesos. I suppose that in the days before the internet existed one could understand how people could repeatedly keep getting into such messes but in this day and age, with the literally hundreds of reports on such cases that at the very best end with a simple strong armed robbery, it defies basic logic and common sense and yet, as we see, it never stops.
The three men checked into the Miami Inn Hotel in Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province on October 20th, 2011 and soon met with three local "partners" whom they had met online:
1) Junie Ongie, of El Salvador, a municipality on that same province, Misamis Oriental
2) Nestor Modejar, of Barobo, in Surigao del Sur Province
and the third man, a reputed "mining engineer" from the municipality of Parang, in Maguindanao Province.
The six men then contracted the services of a guide from the Lake Lanao region and began a ten day search for hidden fortunes. Their contact, a Maranaw (Maranao) Tribesmen, arrived with two other Maranaw to pick the six men up at the hotel. Telling the group that they would be going to inspect a site in the municipalities of Lala and Maranding, in the neighboring province of Lanao del Sur, they were instead led to the southern shores of Lake Lanao, which just happens to be equivalent to wearing a t-shirt that says "Kidnap Me NOW!!!" When the three Koreans failed to return to their hotel by October 31st, concerned staff reported the men as missing. After that it didn't take long to piece together what had transpired. On November 5th the kidnappers contacted family members of the Koreans using their captives' cellphones. Because the primary cellphone used isn't a prepaid, like 90% of Philippine cellphones, the Korean Government was able to ascertain the general location of the kidnappers, if not the captives themselves. The calls were generated from that same southshore location on Lake Lanao. Opening negotiations with the kidnappers' negotiator, none other than the former Mayor of the municipality of Salvador, Jhonny [sic] Tawan-Tawan. Not to be confused with the aforementioned municipality of "El Salvador," this particular town is located on the borders of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte Provinces.
ridiculous sum of P50 Million ($1 Million), cellphone extrapolation revealed that Tawan-Tawan was working for a KFR organisation led by a sub- commander of the 101 Base Command, BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces- as the armed wing of the MILF is known, "Kumander Pogi" (no word as of yet as to whether or not the "Kumamder" will accept a ransom of "Pogi Points" in lieu of cash).
Co-incidentally, the last foreigner kidnapped in that particular area, an American, Sam Milton Taylor, had also been after treasure. His ordeal began on January 11th, 2011 and ended on April 13th, after a hefty ransom changed hands.
Moreover, the last known Korean kidnapping case ALSO involved a would be treasure hunter. 55 year old Yung Oh had arrived in Zamboanga City's Barangay Lanzones in February of 2010 and promptly applied for permits to excavate a large tract of private property. Mindanao being what it is, this led to Abu Sayyaf sub-Kumander Saddam Parad, younger brother of the late Abu Sayyaf factional leader Kumander Albader Parad, casing Oh. Having arrived in the barangay with six Abu Sayyaf guerillas, local villagers alerted the CPO, or City Police Office, which in turn forced a reluctant Mr.Oh to finally leave Mindanao in May of that year, to avoid becoming yet another statistic.
In 2002, another Korean treasure hunter, Yoon Jae Keun DID become a statistic. On February 6th of that year he and Filipino hotel owner, Carlos Belonio, began searching in the municipality of Maitum's Barangay Malisbong, in Sarangani Province, though they weren't looking for precious metal. Like the murdered victim in my recent entry, "Kidnapping for Ransom in the Fourth Quarter of 2011, Part VIII," Dominador Mendoza Berdin, they were trying to grave rob antiquities out of caves.
The now defunct insurgent group Abu Sofia, under its leader its now deceased founder, Kumander Bedis "Bedz" Binago, grabbed the two, threw them into a motor banca, the local term for a motorised skiff and took them into captivity in the municipality of Palembang in the adjacent province of Sultan Kudarat, the Abu Sofia enclave. They were then sold to the BIAF's 109 Base Command, a faction led by Kumander Bedz' brother, sub-Kumander Abdulrahman "Bedz" Binago. While Carlos Belonio was released early on without a ransom (in order to help arrange the ransom of Mr.Yoon), Mr.Yoon ended up being released in July of that year after more than five months in captivity. Interestingly he was privy to much of the ransom negotiations. When the 109 Base Command was ready to release him in exchange for a very modest ransom the Mayor of Palembang, Labualas Mamansual, ended up telling the kidnappers not to settle for less than $300,000, the equivalent of P15 Million. This is why noone should ever rely on the authorities if and when a loved one is kidnapped.
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