▲ Park Wang-yeol, a drug trafficker temporarily repatriated from the Philippines, arrives at the Uijeongbu District Court, north of Seoul, on March 27, 2026. (Yonhap)

probe-drug trafficker

Investigators question accomplice of notorious 'drug kingpin' in Philippines

SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- Investigators said Saturday they have questioned an accomplice and nephew of notorious drug trafficker Park Wang-yeol in the Philippines.

Nine people, including a prosecutor, were sent to a correctional facility in Manila on Sunday to question the nephew jailed there and returned earlier Saturday, according to an investigation task force comprising eight agencies, including the prosecution, police and National Intelligence Service.

The nephew, known as the "blue whale," is suspected of working as Park's accomplice to smuggle drugs into South Korea and distribute them.

Using material gathered from questioning the nephew and other accomplices jailed in the Philippines, the task force plans to reinforce the evidence to support the charges against Park.

The 48-year-old Park, who has been serving a 60-year prison sentence in the Philippines for the murders of three South Koreans in 2016, was temporarily repatriated last month to be investigated on drug trafficking charges.

In total, he is accused of smuggling, distributing and selling or attempting to sell 13.1 billion won (US$8.9 million) worth of drugs in South Korea.

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