A group photo from an outing by a so-called "MZ gang." This image is unrelated to the article. [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]
A group photo from an outing by a so-called "MZ gang." This image is unrelated to the article. [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

South Korean police are launching a targeted crackdown on emerging criminal organizations, including so-called "MZ gangs," amid a growing trend of crime syndicates expanding into lucrative activities such as fraud, gambling and money laundering.

The Korean National Police Agency announced Sunday that it will conduct an intensive crackdown on organized and international crime from Monday through October.

In the organized crime category, police will focus on four areas: gang-orchestrated fraud, illegal private lending, online gambling site operations and money laundering. The push comes as a growing number of emerging criminal organizations are operating through anonymous online platforms or overseas bases to engage in high-profit crimes such as fraud and gambling.

Police will also step up scrutiny of behavior that fuels social unrest, particularly the flaunting of criminal proceeds on social media. Authorities plan to trace money-laundering networks linked to organized crime to cut off channels through which illicit funds flow, and will crack down on gang-related violence whether carried out by individuals or as part of coordinated group activity.

Where clashes between rival gangs are anticipated, police said they will also pursue preventive measures, including issuing advance warnings and deploying officers proactively.

On the international crime front, police will focus on drug offenses and organized illegal activity by foreign nationals. To stem the smuggling and distribution of new psychoactive substances such as ketamine, authorities will trace distribution networks and step up intelligence gathering at foreign national communities, major workplaces and entertainment venues.

For organized crimes involving foreign nationals — including gang violence, fraudulent visa schemes and proxy exam brokering — police will expand intelligence collection both online and offline and will actively consider applying criminal organization charges under the criminal code. Authorities will also address crimes that exploit the vulnerabilities of undocumented foreign nationals and those working outside their visa status.

For undocumented foreign nationals who have been victimized, police plan to protect them by invoking a provision under the Immigration Act that exempts officers from the mandatory reporting obligation.

The second-half crackdown follows the identification of diverse patterns of organized and international crime during enforcement operations in the first half of this year.

From March 9 to June 30, police conducted an intensive organized crime sweep, arresting 1,185 people and detaining 225 of them. The crackdown, which focused particularly on so-called MZ gangs involved in fraud and money laundering, resulted in a 9.7 percent increase in arrests and a 48.3 percent increase in detentions compared with the previous enforcement period.

Among those arrested for organized crime offenses, 63.6 percent were in their 30s or younger. Fraud was the most common crime type among them, accounting for 42.7 percent of cases.

In the international crime category, police arrested 641 people and detained 133 over roughly four months in the first half of the year. The total number of foreign nationals booked by police in the first half of this year reached 18,130, up 9.1 percent from the same period last year. By crime type, drug offenses accounted for 1,189 cases — a 29 percent increase — while gambling and public morals violations rose 26 percent to 323 cases.

"We plan to continue strengthening proactive enforcement and intelligence gathering in close cooperation with relevant agencies dealing with organized and international crime," a police official said.


brunch@heraldcorp.com