A South Korean civilian was shot to death in the Philippines, marking the fifth South Korean to die in the Southeast Asian country this year, the foreign ministry said Saturday.

   The South Korean man was driving in a small town when he was attacked by an unidentified assailant early on Oct. 29. He died while being treated at a local hospital in Baguio, 200 kilometers north of the capital city of Manila, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

   The Korean Embassy in the Philippines is closely cooperating with the police to help figure out the cause of the shooting, it said.

   The number of South Korean deaths nearly doubled to 11 in 2015 from 6 in 2012 and the Seoul government has recently asked the Philippine government to pay keen attention to the safety of visiting Koreans in the country. (Yonhap)