IMMIGRATION authorities are checking the real identity of a Korean national suspected to have entered the country using a fake passport to elude detection and arrest by law enforcement agencies.
Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said the credentials of Kim Yu Seok are under scrutiny amid suspicions that he could be the real Johnson Lee, a suspected Chinese drug lord who allegedly paid P50 million to the 13 Pampanga “ninja cops” in exchange for his release when he was caught during the November 2013 sham raid on his house in Mexico, Pampanga.
Kim is recorded to have entered the country on September 30 and has not departed since.
Perete said the Bureau of Immigration has yet to confirm if Kim and Lee are the same.
“Based on records from the Bi, the passport issued under the name of Kim Yu Seok was indeed used to enter the Philippines on September 30, 2019. No departure using said passport has been recorded since,” Perete said.
“The BI cannot however confirm if the holder of said passport is the same Johnson Lee allegedly involved in a drugs-related case currently under investigation,” he added.
Perete said the BI is currently reviewing, among others, footages from their CCTVs taken during the arrival of Kim as part of the verification process.
Sen. Richard Gordon disclosed last Monday that Lee has returned to the country using a fake passport to elude arrest. — Ashzel Hachero
