More than 3,000 Korean criminals have fled overseas over the past four years, with hundreds still on the loose and only a few dozen returned to South Korea, a lawmaker said Thursday.

Citing data from the Justice Ministry, Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the main opposition party said the number of overseas fugitives has been on the rise since 2010, and reached 3,361 as of June this year. The number rose by 20 percent from 674 fugitives in December 2010 to 815 last year.

Despite prosecutors’ efforts, 30 to 50 percent of the overseas fugitives remained on the loose each year since 2010, and less than 10 percent were returned to Korea. In 2010, nine were repatriated while authorities failed to arrest 337. Last year, 20 fugitives were returned and 267 were missing.

China was the most popular destination for fugitives last year, with 129 criminals having fled there, followed by 124 fugitives in the United States and 70 in the Philippines last year.

By type, financial crimes topped the list with some 370 overseas fugitives having committed fraud, embezzlement or dereliction of duty.

By Kim Da-sol, Intern reporter (dasolkim@heraldcorp.com)