The Seoul government asked Beijing to investigate allegations...

The Seoul government asked Beijing to investigate allegations that two South Korean citizens imprisoned in China on drug trafficking charges were denied their rights to due protection from Korean consular offices and one of them was physically abused by Chinese authorities.
The government also demanded that the Chinese government explain why the body of another Korean national involved in the same drug trafficking case was incinerated after his execution.
The Korean inmate making the abuse allegations, identified only as Park, 71, was arrested in September 1997 for his part in a narcotics operation.
Park, currently serving a life sentence, recently told a Korean consul in China that "the Chinese authorities physically abused him."
The government will make a strong protest if Park's remarks are proved to be true. South Korea is also to call for the Chinese authorities to conduct tests on Park's mental health as he is known to be suffering from senile dementia.
Two other members of the narcotics ring, brothers identified by the family name Chung, were also imprisoned in September 1997. The elder brother is believed to have died of liver disease in November 2000.
The number of Korean criminals in Chinese prisons totals 104, including four who had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.