COPS KIDNAP KOREANS: Seven police officers accused of kidnapping three Koreans in a subdivision in Angeles City last December 30 will be dismissed from the service, a police official said Wednesday.

Chief Superintendent Aaron Aquino, Philippine National Police-Region 3 director, said no less than PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa ordered him to expedite the investigation and dismiss the 7 from service. He said the summary hearings should be finished within 60 days.

"Ako ang magdi dismiss ng mga pulis na yan," he said in a radio DZMM interview.

(I will be the one to dismiss those cops.)

A TV Patrol report earlier identified the 7 as PO1 Jayson Ibe, PO1 Ruben Rodriguez II, PO1 Mark Joseph Pineda, PO2 Richard King Agapito, PO3 Arnold Nagayo, PO3 Roentjen Domingo and PO3 Gomerson Evangelista. An eighth suspect remains unidentified.

CCTV footage earlier showed the police officers arriving in two cars at a residence in Friendship Plaza in Angeles City where the 3 South Koreans were staying while on vacation in the Philippines.

The footage showed one of the Koreans running from the police who had his gun out.

The cops claimed that the South Koreans were involved in illegal gambling but had no arrest order or a search warrant.

The cops allegedly took golf equipment, shoes, jewelry, and laptops from the house then took the 3 to the police station where they were held for 7 hours.

In a statement, the Koreans said they gave P10,000 and another P300,000 they borrowed from a friend after the police kept asking them for money.

Aquino earlier said there were no complaints against the Koreans or even a blotter documenting the “arrest.”

He told DZMM the Koreans did not file a criminal complaint against the police for fear that the suspects would find a way to get back at them.

"The Koreans are afraid of the cops. They don't want the cops to get back at them, they were afraid for their lives," he said.

The police official said the 7 were disarmed, restricted to barracks at the Angeles City police office compound and relieved from their positions.

The kidnap-extortion incident is separate from the "tokhang for ransom" case of murdered businessman Jee Ick Joo, who was kidnapped by suspected police officers also in Friendship Plaza last October 18, 2016.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Jee was killed on the same day he was kidnapped, allegedly inside PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame.

• 'Tokhang-for-ransom': Timeline of South Korean businessman's abduction, killing

WHO'S TARGETING KOREANS?

In the interview, Aquino said police are trying to find out how the suspected police officers were able to identify which Koreans to target for kidnap-extortion.

"We are trying to find out if there are other Koreans involved," he said.

He also noted that kidnap-extortion incidents could be targeting other communities that are mostly composed of South Koreans in Pampanga and Bulacan.

He said at least 1 Korean was killed in Bulacan while another 3 were also murdered in Pampanga.