BI finds 7 South Korean Pogo workers in Clark
Seven South Korean nationals running an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) were arrested in Pampanga, said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday.
According to a statement from the BI, the seven male South Koreans were arrested inside a condominium building in Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles, Pampanga, in coordination with the South Korean authorities, Philippine Air Force and Clark Development Corporation.
The BI said only a single South Korean fugitive was initially targeted in the area, but when the subject was nowhere to be found, authorities discovered the seven Koreans caught in the act of manning workstations suspected to be connected to online gambling activities.
“Authorities reported that the suspects were engaged in small-scale illegal operations using a betting platform linked to various sporting events worldwide,” the BI said.
Initial verification showed that one of the suspects, identified as Ha Dong-jun, 23, has already been wanted by the agency since January 2025 for failing to leave the country after the shutdown of Pogo operations.
All seven Koreans were transferred to the BI’s facility in Taguig, where they will remain during the course of their deportation proceedings.
2 years in the making
President Marcos banned all Pogo operations in the Philippines in 2024 after lawmakers and critics repeatedly cited the minimal economic contributions of Pogo compared to significant social costs, including links to criminal activities such as human trafficking, kidnapping and money laundering.
No official figures for the number of Pogo workers in the Philippines, it is estimated that around 100,000 to 150,000 Chinese were employed in the Philippines in 2019.
In the same year, the Chinese embassy in Manila expressed concern at the illegal recruitment of Chinese nationals in Pogo operations where Chinese were brought to the Philippines under tourist visas, surrendered their passports to Philippine-based employers and were forced to reside in certain places.
