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U.S. exec abducted in Tijuana
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20060407-9...
By Diane Lindquist and Anna Cearley
April 7, 2006
TIJUANA ? A high-level U.S. executive was abducted here yesterday morning after crossing the border, sending shock waves through a maquiladora
industry that for a decade has seemed immune from a wave of kidnappings in Mexico.
Baja California authorities offered sketchy details, but the U.S. Consulate here identified the victim as Yong Hak Kim, a U.S.-born citizen of Korean
descent. Kim is a top administrator of Amex Manufacturing in eastern Tijuana.
Kim, who is in his 50s, was intercepted about 7 a.m. while driving to his business, Baja California Attorney General Antonio Mart?nez Luna said.
Mart?nez did not provide further details, saying that he didn't want to compromise the investigation. ?Our interest when someone is abducted is in
rescuing and guaranteeing the life of this person,? he said.
According to a Tijuana police report, however, a witness said that Kim ? traveling in a 2004 black Hyundai Santa Fe with California plates ? was
intercepted by a white Toyota with tinted windows. The report said a man with a large firearm forced Kim into the white car.
State authorities typically define a case as a kidnapping after a ransom has been demanded. Mart?nez said that as of yesterday afternoon, the case was
being classified as an abduction.
Amex Manufacturing is a small operation that offers services, such as forklift rentals, to larger manufacturing operations, said Teodoro Moreno P?rez,
who manages Hyundai's giant cargo container and chassis manufacturing operation and uses Amex's services.
Amex is in El Florido Industrial Park, which has a concentration of South Korean businesses, including Hyundai and Samsung.
Ricardo Meniola, Amex purchasing manager, said there would be no comment from the firm about Kim, events surrounding his abduction or the company
itself.
?We're not allowed to give information at this moment,? he said.
Although Kim is a U.S. citizen, a representative of the South Korean Consulate in Los Angeles said, ?We're going to do our best to help solve this
problem.?
Kim lives in the United States, but officials would not say where.
Kidnapping is a highly organized form of crime in Mexico, second only to large-scale drug trafficking.
The targets usually are wealthy or middle-class Mexican businessmen or members of their families. Ransoms can reach into the millions of dollars.
No one knows for certain how many people are kidnapped or abducted each year in Tijuana. Though Mexican-American business people have been targeted,
most kidnapping groups appear to avoid foreigners. Some believe that might be due to logistical challenges and the risk of international attention.
Law enforcement often finds itself hampered in solving such cases because close-mouthed families of victims prefer to deal directly with kidnappers.
Mart?nez said the Attorney General's Office has had success in recent weeks rescuing victims.
?The other day we rescued two people who had been abducted, and two weeks ago we rescued five,? he said.
Foreign executives in Tijuana's 580 maquiladora manufacturing factories ? and 2,900 plants across the nation ? appear to have avoided kidnappings
since August 1996, when a gang swooped down on Sanyo Video Components Vice President Mamoru Konno at a company picnic.
?When he got kidnapped, it was on a weekend at a baseball game in front of all his employees, and they called the police,? said Sanyo executive Alan
Foster.
After nine days and the payment of a $2 million ransom by Sanyo, Konno was released unharmed.
?It's distressing,? Foster said. ?We've been lucky. There have been a lot of kidnappings, but it seemed the maquiladoras were exempt. Still, we've
been waiting for the shoe to fall.?
News of Kim's abduction spread quickly through the industry yesterday, said Luis Alberto Pelayo, executive director of the Tijuana Maquiladora
Association.
?Activities are continuing normally, but everyone is very concerned,? he said.
Dale Robinson, president of the Western Maquiladora Trade Association in San Diego, said: ?It's hard to believe. It's shocking. I don't think they've
had one at any place along the border in many years.?
He said many of the larger maquiladora companies operating in Mexico carry kidnap insurance. In the past, police have escorted foreign executives
living in San Diego from the border to their factories.
It's uncertain what effect the abduction might have on foreign investment in Tijuana and Baja California.
The industry is experiencing a regrowth since an economic crisis in the early 2000s prompted a fifth of the factories to close. The state also has
been encouraging investment in infrastructure, including a megaport that the government wants developed at Punta Colonet south of Ensenada.
?I don't think this will disrupt investment,? Tijuana Chamber of Commerce President C?sar A. C?zares said. ?This is one event that took place and it
will turn out all right. And we need to have confidence in the authorities working on this. We know they are doing everything possible.?
The incident, however, highlights a problem that requires more attention from authorities, said Jes?s Alberto Capella, president of a state citizens'
advisory board that addresses public security concerns.
?Although we need to recognize the efforts they have been making, it's still insufficient,? he said. ?The manner and form that this took place shows
that acts of total impunity continue to take place and no police patrol was able to prevent this type of situation.?
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BajaNews
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Exec flees Tijuana abductors
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20060408-9...
Korean-American took gun while captors were dozing
By Anna Cearley and Diane Lindquist
April 8, 2006
TIJUANA ? A high-level U.S. executive who was kidnapped after crossing the border managed to escape yesterday after grabbing a revolver while two
kidnappers were dozing.
Yong Hak Kim, a U.S. citizen who was born in South Korea, locked his abductors in a bathroom of the house where he was being held and ran outside for
help, Mexican authorities said.
Kim was picked up by police after a resident called authorities to report a street disturbance. Hours later, as he was en route to the United States,
Mexican authorities announced the detention of five suspects in connection with the Thursday morning kidnapping.
The conclusion to the 24-hour episode provided some relief for many here who worried that kidnappers were starting to target foreign businessmen.
Kidnapping groups typically prey on Mexican or Mexican-American businessmen.
South Korean officials said yesterday that Kim, who is in his 50s and has dual citizenship, is president of Amex Manufacturing. Some of the suspects
were employed at the company, Mexican authorities said.
Amex offers forklift rentals and other support services to maquiladoras, and its clients include Hyundai, Samsung and Sony. Mexican authorities said
Kim lived in the Los Angeles area and he was traveling to work in Tijuana when he was kidnapped.
At a brief news conference at city police headquarters shortly after he was picked up by police, Kim thanked authorities and said he wanted to see his
family.
City police officials said two of his kidnappers were in the house when Kim escaped, but they managed to flee before patrols arrived. It wasn't clear
whether those two are among those who were captured. Mexican authorities said they still were looking for other suspects.
?Because of the way this took place and other facts, we don't believe that this was an organized group of kidnappers,? said Luis Javier Algorri
Franco, the city's director of public security.
Algorri noted that the kidnappers intercepted Kim in an older model car. Kidnappers often use sport utility vehicles. Algorri also said the kidnappers
communicated with a Nextel radio immediately afterward to demand a ransom. ?This isn't normal for a kidnapping,? he said. ?An organized group normally
brings the person to a house and then after two or three days they start the negotiations.?
They also didn't appear to have a cache of sophisticated weapons. Apart from the revolver Kim grabbed to escape, authorities found two toy guns at the
home, Algorri said.
Algorri characterized Kim's escape as ?a heroic and courageous act.?
Kim, who was present during the news conference at city police headquarters, spoke little Spanish or English, Mexican authorities said yesterday
morning.
They said Kim didn't appear to have been physically harmed by his captors.
Baja California Attorney General Antonio Mart?nez Luna said yesterday in a separate news conference to announce the arrests that Kim was kept chained
inside the house, but he managed to grab the gun after waiting for his captors to fall asleep. Then Kim forced them to release him, Mart?nez said.
Algorri said Kim locked his captors inside the bathroom before fleeing.
Mexican authorities said Kim was slightly injured when he jumped over a fence and tried to flag down the driver of a truck for help. The driver
apparently was scared off by the gun-wielding Kim.
Sometime after 6:30 a.m., police showed up in response to a report of an armed man in the street and confirmed Kim's identity. He was found in the
eastern side of town, in a section called Centenario.
After showing police the house where he had been held, Kim was brought to city police headquarters in downtown Tijuana. Dozens of police with assault
weapons guarded the building and blocked the streets as Kim was reunited with his wife, said Victor Ram?rez, a city police spokesman.
Kidnappers long have been a major crime problem throughout Mexico. Many abductions are not reported to police because families of victims often don't
trust authorities, and that makes it nearly impossible to estimate how many occur.
Judith Bryan, spokeswoman with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, said yesterday afternoon that Kim ?was in transit to go back to California and was
being escorted by the U.S. Consulate and family.?
In the United States, he would be debriefed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she said.
In Baja California, Mart?nez said the investigation involved the cooperation of the United States and South Korea. Two South Korean officials joined
him at the state agency's press conference after the suspects' arrests.
Daniel Romero Mej?a, president of Consejo Coordinador Empresarial de Tijuana, a council of businesses, said local executives were relieved that Kim
escaped but were concerned the incident might deter economic growth.
?This event could hurt some of the investment we already have in Mexico and the governor's efforts to promote the area to new investors,? he said. But
he noted that other parts of the world seeking foreign investment also have security problems.
Kim appeared noncommittal about continuing to work in Tijuana after his ordeal, according to a recording of the morning news conference with city
police.
?Yeah, I want to work in Tijuana, but for now I don't know,? he said.
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BajaNews
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http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/17710.html
April 08, 2006
A U.S. executive abducted in this violent Mexico-U.S. border city escaped after his kidnappers dozed off.
Yong Hak Kim, a 53-year-old U.S.-born citizen of Korean descent and a top administrator of Amex Manufacturing in eastern Tijuana, was seized as he
drove to his business early in the morning Thursday. About 24 hours later on Friday, he was able to escape the small home where he had been taken,
grabbing a gun and running into the street.
He told police he was unharmed and treated well by his abductors, but injured himself after brandishing the weapon and trying to jump aboard a passing
gasoline truck. The scene caused such a commotion that neighbors called the police, said V?ctor Ram?rez, a spokesman for Tijuana?s police department.
Authorities arriving to the scene went with Kim back to the house where he had been held, but the kidnappers had fled. They recovered three pistols,
two of which were plastic, Ram?rez said.
A spokesman for authorities in Baja California, which includes Tijuana, said Friday evening that authorities had arrested five suspects but declined
to provide further details.
Kim told police he was blindfolded and had his hands bound, but could tell by the voices of his abductors that two men and one woman were involved.
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BajaNews
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News photographers take pictures of five men who were detained in the kidnapping of businessman Yong Hak Kim on Friday, April 7, 2006 in Tijuana,
Mexico. The U.S. executive abducted in this violent Mexico-U.S. border city escaped Friday after his kidnappers dozed off, officials said. Among the
suspects, three had worked at the busness where Kim is president. Kim had escaped his captors earlier today. (AP Photo/David Maung)
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