A 51-year-old South Korean man who was detained last week in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has been deported back to South Korea, according to an official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul.

The deportation is related to the man's work helping North Korean refugees to enter South Korea via third countries in the region, including Vietnam

The man, known only as Yoo, had been deported for his involvement with North Korean defectors once before, in 2004. He has now been banned from re-entering Vietnam for the next three years.