Hanoi - Police in Vietnam have arrested a South Korean man accused of defrauding people who want to go to work in South Korea, an official said Monday. Yoo Young Sang, 61, of Seoul, was arrested Saturday night at a rented house in Hanoi and accused of taking at least 27,000 dollars from Vietnamese people, according to Bui Van Minh, an official with the Hanoi Police Department.
"Further investigation is underway and we are waiting to see if there are more victims," Minh said.
Yoo apparently promised in 2003 that he could arrange for Vietnamese workers to get a visa toSouth Korea if each would pay him between 2,000 and 3,000 dollars in advance.
However, four years later, after taking 27,000 dollars of deposits from 10 people in Vinh Phuc province, 60 kilometers north of Hanoi, Yoo had not produced any South Korean work permits and the Vietnamese people complained to police.
South Korea has more than 40,000 Vietnamese people working with an average monthly salary of around 12,000 dollars per year, compared with Vietnam's per capital income of 720 dollars per year.
The penalty for fraud in Vietnam is up to 15 years in prison.
