Kidnapped Korean National Found Dead in S. Philippines

A 70-year old Korean national who was abducted by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits about nine months ago was found dead in southern Philippine province of Sulu, local military said Sunday.

The cadaver of Nwi Seong Hong was discovered by a concerned citizen at the vicinity of the Sulu State College in Bangkal village in Patikul town at around 10:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, said Brigadier General Alan Arrojado, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Joint Task Group Sulu.

The Indanan-based Abu Sayyaf members allegedly brought the victim to the area after he died due to “severe illness” while in captivity in the hinterland of Indanan town, he said.

The Korean national was negative of any gunshot wound, Arrojado added.

Hong, along with his son, was abducted by armed men in Poblacion village in R.T. Lim town, Zamboanga Sibugay province on Jan. 24. His son managed to escape from their abductors.

The 400-strong Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), founded in the early 1990s by Islamic extremists, is a violent Muslim terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines. The ASG is notorious for a series of kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in southern Philippines over the past decades. (PNA/Xinhua) CTB/RSM