In South Korea, 19 citizens of Uzbekistan wanted by Interpol are in hiding
More than 100 foreign nationals who have committed crimes abroad and are wanted by Interpol are hiding in South Korea. According to the National Police Agency, 19 of them are citizens of Uzbekistan. Most of the crimes are related to fraud.
In South Korea, 19 citizens of Uzbekistan are wanted by Interpol
As of August 12, 110 foreign nationals wanted for crimes committed abroad were hiding in South Korea. Of these, 19 are citizens of Uzbekistan. This was reported by the Yonhap news agency, citing data from the National Police Agency.
The largest share of those wanted by Interpol were citizens of China — 40 people, or 36%. They are followed by citizens of Uzbekistan (19) and Mongolia (17).
Most often, foreigners were wanted for fraud — 47 cases. Another 29 cases involved other crimes, including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The remaining cases relate to drug-related crimes (7), theft (5), traffic violations (5), and assault (5).
To combat international crime, South Korea's National Police Agency this year increased the number of officers involved in tracking down foreign criminals from 22 to 64. As a result, the number of returned wanted foreigners nearly doubled — from 13 people in 2025 to 24 people from January to August 2026, the agency writes.