Aguirre overturns DOJ ruling under Caguioa; orders BI to arrest Korean

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested an alleged member of the "Korean mafia" that is being linked to the abduction and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo last October 18.

A report of GMA News' Maki Pulido on 24 Oras" on Monday said South Korean businessman Kang Tae Sik was arrested by BI operatives last Thursday at his office in Makati City.

Kang's lawyer, Reden Viaje, denounced the manner of the arrest which was allegedly ordered by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.

"Dyan po natin makikita how these agents of the BI...forcibly barged into the office of Mr. Kang. And he was manhandled, handcuffed like a criminal and dragged into downstairs and shoved into the waiting van," Viaje said.

It remains a mystery for Kang's camp why he was arrested when then-justice secretary and now Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguiao already overturned the order for his deportation last year.

Kang was previously arrested at his office in Makati City on October 28, 2015 for violation of the Philippine Immigration Act.

The deportation order stemmed from his conviction for violation of the bouncing checks law (Batas Pambansa 22).

Viaje said Aguirre only wanted to implicate Kang in Jee's death.

"Ina-accuse nya ng mafia then ni-revive nila yung case, ni-reverse nila yung decision na final na under the law. Di mo na pwede pakialaman yung decision na final and executory," the lawyer said.

Aguirre and the BI have yet to comment on the matter.

During the Senate hearing on Jee's case last February 23, Aguirre said a Duterte administration official told him that Kang should be deported immediately following a conviction for a crime.

Kang, it was alleged, managed to stay in the country by paying off certain officials particularly those in the BI.

The South Korean embassy, however, said in a statement that Kang is a "long-established Korean businessman who has nothing to do with Jee's case." —Virgil Lopez/NB, GMA News