# Philippines stops two Korean fugitives, one tied to romance scam > By Kim Harris | Edited by Bill Alena | Published: 2026-11-04T01:12:03.307926+00:00 | Section: Daily News | Source: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/philippines-stops-two-korean-fugitives-one-tied-romance-scam | Publisher: Dating Industry Insights (High Intent Media Inc) Philippine immigration intercepted two South Korean Interpol Red Notice subjects at NAIA. One is accused of working for a Cambodia romance scam syndicate. ## Key points - Philippine Bureau of Immigration officers intercepted South Korean fugitives Lee Jaeryeon, 32, and An Intae, 29, at NAIA Terminal 1 on 20 October, as they prepared to fly to Vietnam. - Investigators accuse Lee of working for a Sihanoukville, Cambodia romance scam syndicate; An is accused separately of a stock investment scam, and all allegations are unproven. - Authorities estimate the two syndicates generated more than 3.7 billion South Korean won, about $2.8M, according to The Journal. - The Bureau of Immigration announced the interceptions on 3 November. Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado ordered both men blacklisted, and they are held in Taguig City pending deportation proceedings. ## Article - Philippine immigration intercepted Lee Jaeryeon, 32, and An Intae, 29, at NAIA Terminal 1 on 20 October, as both prepared to fly to Vietnam. - Investigators accuse Lee of working for a romance scam syndicate based in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. An faces a separate stock investment scam case. - Authorities estimate the syndicates generated more than 3.7 billion won, roughly $2.8M, according to The Journal. - The Bureau of Immigration announced the interceptions on 3 November and ordered both men blacklisted. The Manila Times reported on 4 November that Philippine immigration officers intercepted two South Korean fugitives at Manila's airport, one of them accused of acting as an agent for a Cambodia-based romance scam syndicate. Both men were subjects of Interpol Red Notices tied to criminal cases filed in South Korea. All the allegations are unproven. The dating angle is indirect: no dating app is named in the reporting. The alleged method matters to operators anyway, because it relies on the same social media ads and fabricated intimacy that trust and safety teams spend their budgets trying to detect. ### The DII Take This is a border-control story, not a platform story, and it shows where romance fraud is actually being fought: at airports, after the damage is done. The alleged playbook sits on Facebook ads and a bogus website, so the dating industry's exposure is the reputational spillover from scams that borrow its vocabulary. Operators should expect regulators to keep treating all of it as one problem. ### What Lee is accused of According to the Manila Times, investigators say that in 2024 Lee approached people who had answered the syndicate's adverts on Facebook and other social media, and went on to form romantic relationships with them. He is then alleged to have directed them to a fraudulent website, whose administrator charged them 'verification' and 'woman's choice' fees. The Journal reported that BI spokesperson Anisha Hassan supplied the details of the alleged scheme. An's case is different. He is accused of a stock investment scam that allegedly used fake websites, KakaoTalk and Instagram to lure investors into depositing money in accounts he and accomplices owned or controlled. The 3.7 billion won estimate covers both syndicates combined, according to The Journal. > Both men are held at the BI detention facility in Taguig City pending deportation proceedings. ### What happens next Both men are held at the BI detention facility in Taguig City pending deportation proceedings. Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado has ordered them blacklisted so they cannot return to the Philippines. Politiko quoted him: 'Fraud syndicates operate across borders, and our response must be just as coordinated.' The announcement came about two weeks after the interception, according to Astig.ph. The pressure is regional. The Korea Herald reported that South Korea repatriated 73 suspects from Cambodia, which it called a record transfer, with 70 linked to online fraud including romance scams. DII has not confirmed the date of that article. We previously covered a [Seoul court jailing two Koreans over Cambodia romance scam work](https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/seoul-court-jails-two-koreans-cambodia-romance-scam-chatters). - Philippine authorities are blacklisting Interpol-listed fraud suspects at airports, so Southeast Asian scam networks face growing transit risk for their operators. - Alleged romance fraud in this case ran through Facebook ads and an off-platform website, so dating operators should expect scrutiny of ad and messaging channels, not just in-app behaviour. **Sources:** [SKorean fugitives linked to online scams nabbed (The Manila Times)](https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/11/04/news/national/skorean-fugitives-linked-to-online-scams-nabbed/2460740); [No getaway flight: 2 Korean fugitives nabbed at NAIA (Politiko)](https://politiko.com.ph/no-getaway-flight-2-korean-fugitives-nabbed-at-naia/); [Two South Korean Fugitives With Interpol Red Notices Nabbed By BI At NAIA (Journal Online)](https://journal.com.ph/two-south-korean-fugitives-with-interpol-red-notices-nabbed-by-bi-at-naia/); [Immigration stopped 2 South Korean fugitives at NAIA (Astig.ph)](https://astig.ph/south-korean-fugitives-intercepted-naia-interpol-2026/); [Record 73 scam suspects repatriated from Cambodia (The Korea Herald)](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10661608) ## Key takeaways - Philippine authorities are stopping and blacklisting Interpol-listed fraud suspects at NAIA, according to Philippine reports, which in DII's view raises transit risk for people working in Southeast Asian scam networks. - Lee Jaeryeon's alleged romance fraud ran through Facebook ads and an off-platform website, so dating operators should expect scrutiny of ad and messaging channels, not only in-app behaviour. - No dating app is named in the Manila Times reporting, so the exposure for dating companies is reputational and regulatory rather than direct. ## FAQ ### Who did the Philippines intercept at NAIA over romance scam allegations? Philippine immigration intercepted South Korean Lee Jaeryeon, 32, who is accused of working for a Sihanoukville, Cambodia romance scam syndicate. The allegations are unproven. ### Was the second Korean fugitive also linked to romance scams? No. An Intae, 29, is accused of a separate stock investment scam that allegedly used fake websites, KakaoTalk and Instagram, according to the Manila Times. ### How much money was allegedly taken in the Korean fraud cases? Authorities estimate the syndicates generated more than 3.7 billion South Korean won, about $2.8M, according to The Journal. The figure covers both cases combined. --- Canonical: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/philippines-stops-two-korean-fugitives-one-tied-romance-scam Citation: "Dating Industry Insights" (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com)