Vietnamese police hand over three South Koreans wanted by Interpol over online fraud

Police in Ho Chi Minh City said on Sunday, 30 August 2026, that they had arrested three South Korean nationals wanted internationally on Interpol red notices and handed them over to South Korean authorities.

The operation was carried out by the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency, working with the Office of the Police Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Public Security and other units.

The three men were identified by police as Wang Taesan, born in 1990, Han Joonhee, born in 1992, and Bang Giseong, born in 1997. All three were the subject of international wanted notices issued at the request of South Korean police.

The allegations against them relate to online fraud. Vietnamese police said the men had targeted victims in South Korea through what they described as sophisticated high-technology fraud schemes.

Alleged extortion using non-existent videos

In one scheme described by investigators, the suspects contacted victims and claimed to be in possession of sensitive videos of them. They then threatened to publish the material online unless payment was made.

Police said the group did not in fact hold any such recordings. The claim was used solely to pressure victims into transferring money, according to the account given by investigators.

Impersonation of prosecutors and law enforcement

A second scheme involved the alleged impersonation of South Korean prosecutors and other law enforcement officials. Police said the suspects contacted victims by telephone and sent them links to forged official documents.

Those documents included fabricated arrest warrants bearing the names of the individual victims, according to police. The material was used to lend credibility to the callers' claimed official status.

The suspects then allegedly told victims that their bank accounts had been linked to criminal activity. Victims were instructed to transfer money to specified accounts for what was described as a verification process.

Police said the transfers allowed the group to take possession of the funds, completing the fraud. The method described corresponds to a pattern of law enforcement impersonation scams that has affected several jurisdictions in the region.

Handover at Tan Son Nhat

The three men were formally transferred to South Korean authorities at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Images released by Ho Chi Minh City Police show Han Joonhee and Bang Giseong being handed over, with Wang Taesan transferred separately.

Second transfer within days

The repatriation follows a similar handover in the Vietnamese capital earlier in the same week. On 27 August 2026, Lang Ward Police, working with the Immigration Department of the Hanoi Police, transferred an internationally wanted individual to South Korean authorities at Noi Bai International Airport.

That case concerned Lee Sammin, a South Korean national born in 1996, who was arrested on 31 December 2025. He had been the subject of an Interpol red notice relating to telecommunications-based online fraud.

Police said Lee had posed as an investment expert. Together with other members of a criminal network, he was alleged to have defrauded victims through social media platforms and other internet channels.

The network is said to have circulated false information about shares that were supposedly about to be listed. Victims were persuaded to send money for investment, which was subsequently misappropriated.

The total sum involved in that case was put at US$10,693,343 by police.

Context

Interpol red notices are requests to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. They are issued at the request of a member country and do not constitute an international arrest warrant.

None of the individuals named has entered a plea, and the allegations set out by Vietnamese police have not been tested in court. The cases will proceed under the jurisdiction of South Korean authorities following the transfers.

The two handovers within a four-day period point to continuing cooperation between Vietnamese and South Korean law enforcement agencies on transnational fraud, an area in which South Korean nationals operating from Southeast Asian bases have featured in a series of recent cases.