S. Korea to dispatch team to examine growing number of Koreans murdered in Philippines

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will dispatch an inspection team to the Philippines this week to counter a growing number of Korean nationals murdered in the country, foreign ministry officials said Tuesday. The decision was announced at a foreign ministry-chaired meeting earlier in the day, which brought together officials from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, the prime ministerial center for anti-terrorism, the National Intelligence Service and the police. The gathering was intended to coordinate inter-government cooperation in protecting people traveling or living in the Southeast Asian country, as a steady rise in the number of South Koreans killed in the country has been reported. One South Korean man was shot to death by an unidentified gunman in a city 200 kilometers north of Manila last week. Another three South Koreans were also found dead with gunshot wounds in a sugar cane field in Bacolor earlier last month. Including these victims, a total of seven South Koreans have reportedly been murdered in the country so far this year. The corresponding number reached 11 for 2015 and 10 the previous year. The South Korean delegation headed by the foreign ministry's Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Kim Wan-joon will fly to the Philippines on Wednesday for a three-day visit focused on inspecting local security conditions. The team will meet with the Philippine police to call for a more intense investigation into recent murder cases. They will also travel to the Philippines' Angeles, one of areas with a large South Korean population, to inspect security conditions there, according to the official. The government, in addition, plans to expand cooperation with the Southeast Asian country to work together on murder cases involving Koreans, the foreign ministry said. "The situation of personal safety for our nationals in the Philippines is worsening," Director-General Kim said. "The government is seeking numerous measures to forge a joint investigation with the Philippine government." pbr@yna.co.kr (END)