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Filipino ex-cop in South Korean businessman’s 2016 murder caught after 2 years on the run

A dismissed high-ranking Filipino police officer convicted of orchestrating the 2016 killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was arrested in the Philippine capital of…

By Samantha Johnson / June 10, 2026
A dismissed high-ranking Filipino police officer convicted of orchestrating the 2016 killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was arrested in the Philippine capital of Manila after nearly two years on the run, authorities said on Wednesday.
President Lee Jae Myung welcomed the arrest, vowing to seek justice for criminals targeting South Koreans abroad and expressing gratitude to officials in both countries for their joint efforts.

Rafael Dumlao, who was a top official of an anti-drug unit within the Philippine National Police at the time of the killing, was apprehended at around 5.15am on Tuesday, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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The mastermind behind Jee’s murder had been in hiding since the Philippine Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling convicting him and sentencing him to at least 30 years in prison.

Former senior police officer Ricky Santa Isabel (right) is fingerprinted after his arrest for the killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo at the police headquarters in Quezon City in January 2017. Photo: EPA
Former senior police officer Ricky Santa Isabel (right) is fingerprinted after his arrest for the killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo at the police headquarters in Quezon City in January 2017. Photo: EPA

Jee was abducted and killed inside the national police headquarters in 2016. The case, which directly involved several active-duty and former police officers, shocked both countries as it exposed serious corruption within law enforcement.

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“According to a witness, they kidnapped the Korean, attempted to extort money from him, strangled him, cremated his body and flushed the remains down the toilet,” Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said as he announced Dumlao’s arrest.

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