Seogwipo police arrest 27 over phones and bank accounts supplied to criminal groups
In short
Police in Seogwipo, Jeju, said they apprehended 27 people and detained four over recruiting and distributing burner phones and bank accounts used by criminal organizations. Two men in their 20s allegedly ran the operation from an office in a Seogwipo commercial building, drawing in local acquaintances through senior-junior ties, and offered about 3 million won per phone. Police said they preserved roughly 55 million won in criminal proceeds before indictment and are still investigating the organizations that received the accounts.
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Police in Seogwipo, on the southern coast of Jeju, said they apprehended 27 people and detained four of them over recruiting and distributing burner phones and bank accounts for use in crime, according to reports published on 6 October. Dong-A Ilbo and NoCut News, citing Seogwipo Police, said those caught were linked by local senior-junior relationships. NoCut News reported that the suspects face allegations under the Telecommunications Fraud Victim Refund Act, the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and the Telecommunications Business Act. [ 2 , 5 ]
According to the police account, two men in their 20s, referred to in the reports as A and B, set up an office on the third floor of a commercial building in Seogwipo and took the role of overall organisers. NoCut News reported that they recruited four people as recruiters, who in turn brought in 21 acquaintances to produce the phones and bank accounts. Dong-A Ilbo described the same structure, saying the pair approached people they knew with offers of payment for delivering the devices. [ 2 , 5 ]
Seoul Shinmun and NoCut News reported that recruiters were offered about 3 million won per phone. NoCut News added that in practice the recruiters and the people who provided the accounts sometimes split the money or were not paid as promised. Police said the phones, bank accounts, identification cards and OTP cards were handed to a buyer in another region, and that the organizations involved used them for voice phishing and illegal gambling sites. NoCut News reported that A and B are not members of organised crime groups. [ 3 , 5 ]
Dong-A Ilbo and NoCut News both reported that police took pre-indictment preservation measures covering about 55 million won in criminal proceeds. NoCut News said the investigation began in March, when one participant came to a police station saying his bank account had been frozen; officers then confirmed he had passed an account to an acquaintance and expanded the inquiry from there. [ 2 , 5 ]
Police said the investigation is continuing into the criminal organizations that received the phones and bank accounts, which the reports placed in other regions. The documents identify the suspects only by initials. [ 2 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The case describes a local recruitment network that police say fed phones and bank accounts to voice-phishing and illegal gambling operations outside Jeju, illustrating how regional social ties can be used to scale such supply. Police said the investigation into the downstream organizations is continuing, so the reach of the network described so far is not final.
Key facts
- Seogwipo Police said 27 people were apprehended and four of them detained in connection with recruiting and distributing burner phones and bank accounts. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Two men in their 20s, identified in the documents as A and B, allegedly set up an office on the third floor of a commercial building in Seogwipo. [ 2 , 5 ]
- According to NoCut News, they brought in four recruiters, who in turn drew in 21 acquaintances, all part of local senior-junior networks. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Police said recruiters were offered about 3 million won per phone or account they delivered. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The phones, bank accounts, ID cards and OTP cards were passed to criminal organizations in other regions and used for voice phishing and illegal gambling sites, according to police. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Police said about 55 million won in criminal proceeds was subject to pre-indictment preservation for forfeiture. [ 2 , 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Seogwipo Police announced the apprehension of 27 people and the detention of four of them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The alleged operation was based in Seogwipo and involved people linked by local senior-junior relationships. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Police said roughly 55 million won in criminal proceeds was preserved for forfeiture before indictment. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Police said the collected phones and accounts were supplied to criminal organizations outside the region. [ 2 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- The identities of the suspects, who are identified in the documents only by the initials A through F. Police releases cited in the documents give no names or further identifying details.
- Whether the promised payment of about 3 million won per phone was actually made. NoCut News alone reports that recruiters and providers sometimes split the money or were not paid as promised; the other documents do not address this.
- The size, location and membership of the organizations that received the phones and accounts. Police said only that the recipients were in other regions and that the investigation is continuing.
- The specific charges. Only NoCut News names the laws cited — the Telecommunications Fraud Victim Refund Act, the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and the Telecommunications Business Act; the other documents describe the allegations without naming them.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis publishes a headline reporting the arrest of 27 people in Seogwipo over recruiting and distributing burner phones and bank accounts. [ 1 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports that Seogwipo Police apprehended 27 people, detained four, and that about 55 million won in proceeds was preserved. [ 2 ]
- Seoul Shinmun reports the case under a headline citing the offer of 3 million won per phone. [ 3 ]
- NoCut News reports the alleged crime period as running from September last year to early April this year, and says the investigation began in March when a participant asked police about a frozen account. [ 5 ]