Hanoi  - Vietnamese police have charged a South Korean man with defrauding Vietnamese workers by falsely promising them jobs in South Korea, local media reported Friday.

The newspaper An Ninh Thu Do (Capital Security) reported Hanoi police had charged Nam Jae Hoon, 48, with cheating dozens of Vietnamese workers out of several hundred thousand dollars.

Police said Nam had entered Vietnam in 2004 and contracted with several Vietnamese human resources companies to find Vietnamese workers jobs in South Korea at monthly salaries of 600 to 1,000 dollars.

Those directors had collected about 300,000 dollars in advance fees from workers, of which nearly 250,000 dollars were given to Nam. He then disappeared.

The newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) said Vietnamese police had issued a warrant for Nam in July 2007 and arrested him at the end of 2008.

Police also arrested several human resource company executives who they alleged had collaborated with Nam to defraud workers.

Under Vietnamese law, if found guilty, Nam faces 12 to 20 years in prison. (dpa)