Vietnamese worker dies in Korea: Kidnapped, ransom demanded of 200 million VND?

On March 8, I went to Xuan Hoa village, Quang Xuan commune, Quang Trach district, Quang Binh province to meet relatives of the victim Nguyen Van Quoc, hoping to "decode" the mysteries behind his death.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Van Ky - father of Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (commonly known as Quoc), the victim who just died in Korea - expressed his grief over his son's death in a foreign land.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ky said that Hung is the fourth child in the family. After graduating from high school, because he could not find a job in his hometown, Hung went to Korea as an export laborer, working as a fisherman since 2012. Due to low salary and difficult life, he could only work for a short time, Hung and his friend escaped to work outside, also working as a fisherman.

Relatives grieve over the victim's passing.

Working in a foreign country for a while, Hung came into contact and played with a number of groups of people, then got involved in lottery, gambling and then got into debt. In the foreign country, Hung owed a large sum of money to a man named Ch. who was from the same village as Hung, Xuan Hoa.

Mr. Ky sadly said: “Around 6:30 p.m. on February 24, Hung called me and said that he was kidnapped by a group of people and taken to an island in the sea. After that, Hung asked me to borrow 100 million VND to pay off his debt. Before I could understand what was happening, the other person picked up the phone and demanded 200 million VND to release Hung.”

To ensure the child's safety, the family negotiated with the person claiming to be Ch. that they would ask an acquaintance in Korea to give this person money.

“At around 11:40 p.m. the same day, Ch. called the family to say he had released Hung. Then he hung up, but I remember not hearing anything from Hung, so I was suspicious. After that, I kept calling the above number to see my son, but I couldn't get through,” Mr. Ky continued.

The victim is believed to have been murdered while working in South Korea.

Unable to contact Hung, Mr. Ky's family contacted an acquaintance in Korea to inquire about their son's information. Two days later, a man named Ch. called the family and said he had released Hung, but it was unclear where the victim had gone. Ch. insisted that he had not harmed his son.

On March 6, a woman called the family and claimed to be a representative and interpreter of the Vietnamese Community in Korea and announced the bad news that Nguyen Van Hung had died and his body was found on the beach.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet - the victim's mother said: "This person revealed that my son's body has been taken to the hospital for investigation by the Korean police, and Ch. is the subject related to my son's death, and Ch. has now turned himself in...".

The victim's family wishes to bring their son's body back to Vietnam for burial, but this is facing many difficulties. "I heard that it would cost tens of millions to bring him back, but the family doesn't know how to handle it. Now we just hope that the Korean police will investigate and clarify and create conditions for him to return to his homeland for burial," Ms. Nguyet shared.

According to Mr. Pham Van Hoa - Chairman of Quang Xuan Commune People's Committee, the Commune People's Committee has received information from the family and has transferred it to competent authorities for resolution.