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REYNOSA, Mexico (AP) -- South Korean officials say five South Koreans who were kidnapped while driving in a Mexican border city have been set free.
Lee Jeong-gwan, a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul, South Korea, told reporters that the South Koreans were in custody of Mexican police and would be handed over to the South Korean Embassy there.
The five South Koreans were kidnapped on July 14 while driving in a Mexican border city, and their captors had demanded $30,000.
Gunmen seized the four men and one woman, as they rode in a car in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, police commander Noe Hinojosa said.
The South Korean Yonhap news agency reported the captors falsely identified themselves as police, a common practice among criminals in Mexico.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had instructed his top security adviser to make the "utmost efforts for a quick and safe return" of the kidnapped victims.
Thousands of South Koreans work in Mexico, many of them running import businesses or assembly-for-export factories.
Mexico has one of the highest rates of kidnappings for ransom in the world. Many abductions are never reported to police, in part for fear officials themselves might be involved or that they would bungle a possible rescue.
In October, Spanish businessman Jose Maria Sanchez was kidnapped, prompting international media coverage and intense pressure from the Spanish and U.S. governments.
Three days after he was taken from a seaside restaurant, Sanchez was found wandering along a highway outside Tijuana, his hands still bound and his eyes blindfolded.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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