An international manhunt for an Orange County murder suspect has concluded after authorities successfully tracked down the man hiding more than 8,300 miles away in Laos, Orange County authorities announced Friday. Laotian police arrested Myung Jin Kim, 31, last month for possessing fake immigration documents and sent him back to Los Angeles International Airport earlier this week.
He was then booked into the Anaheim Police Department jail, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Kim, a South Korean national, is accused of shooting and killing his friend, 26-year-old Christopher Kim, after an argument over money in the parking lot of a Westminster CVS on September 18, 2018. Authorities said Kim was out on bail for drug dealing and possessing a firearm as a felon when he killed his friend.
Kim shot the victim six times in front of the victim's girlfriend and fled the scene, the DA's office reported.
Two years prior to the alleged homicide in Westminster, Kim orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot by hiring a hitman in San Jose, according to investigators. However, the contract killer ended up fatally shooting the wrong man.
An investigation later identified several suspects in the San Jose murder, leading authorities to conclude that Kim had orchestrated the targeted killing, prosecutors said.
Nearly eight years after the deadly shooting in Westminster, investigators from Orange and Santa Clara counties learned Kim was in Laos and began developing a plan to bring him back to the U.S. This marks the first time Laotian officials have returned a wanted fugitive from Laos to the United States, the DA's office said, adding that Orange County authorities have extradited or removed seven international fugitives since January 2026.
“Justice knows no borders and we will go to the literal ends of the earth in the pursuit of justice,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “It may not be today.
It may not be tomorrow. But the long arm of the law of Orange County is coming for you and there is not a country on earth that is capable of shielding you from our unwavering pursuit of justice.”
Kim is expected to be prosecuted for his crimes in Santa Clara County before being returned to Orange County to face charges for the crimes committed there. His return to the U.S.
resulted from collaboration among nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies, including police from Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand.