CCTV footage shows robbers fleeing on two motorcycles (circled in white) after shooting a Korean national on the streets of Malate, Manila, Friday. Captured from GMA News YouTube

A Korean man was fatally shot during a robbery in the heart of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, highlighting ongoing concerns about the safety of Korean residents and tourists in the country.

According to Philippine media outlet GMA News and the Korean Embassy in the Philippines on Monday, the incident happened around 7:45 p.m. on March 7 in the bustling district of Malate.

The victim was shot by two robbers and later died after being transported to a hospital. He was a Korean resident living in the area and was reportedly shot while struggling with the assailants attempting to pickpocket him.

Malate is a major commercial district in Manila and is also home to the city's Koreatown.

CCTV footage showed the Korean man walking along a main road before entering an alleyway. Four robbers on two motorcycles followed him into the alley, then fled on their vehicles shortly afterward.

A woman who was accompanying the victim is seen in the footage running to a nearby convenience store to seek help.

Philippine police are currently searching for the suspects and investigating the motive behind the crime.

Violent crimes targeting Korean residents and tourists remain a serious issue in the Philippines. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 2015 to the first half of 2024, 38 Koreans were killed in the Philippines — accounting for 44 percent of all Korean homicide victims in Asia-Pacific countries during that period.

The number is more than double the combined total of victims in Japan (13) and China (five), which ranked second and third, respectively.

In a similar case in May last year, a Korean man died after sustaining serious injuries during a pickpocketing incident in Angeles, a city in the Philippine province of Pampanga. In 2016, Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was kidnapped and murdered by three Filipino police officers.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.