"In the Heart of the City, Assault and Stock Leading Rooms... MZ Gangster Heads to Trial"

Corporate Crimes Like Gambling, Private Loans, and Reading Rooms on the Rise
75% of Recently Arrested Gangsters Are in Their 10s to 30s

Members of the MZ generation in their teens and twenties have been prosecuted for joining organized crime groups in Incheon and carrying out collective retaliatory assaults in the heart of the city.

On the 28th, the Violent Crime Investigation Division of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had arrested and indicted five people, including A (23) of the Incheon-based organized crime group Kkolmangpa, on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes (formation and activities of criminal organizations). Additionally, 23 others who joined and operated within the organized crime groups were indicted without detention. B (21), who assaulted a junior member, had his prosecution suspended.

It has been revealed that organized crime groups have steadily increased their numbers with the addition of people in their teens to thirties, so-called 'MZ Jopok.' These individuals primarily committed crimes involving the formation or joining of violent organizations rather than traditional crimes such as intimidation or group assault targeting ordinary citizens.
[Photo by Asia Economy]

In 2021, A and six others who joined Kkolmangpa are accused of retaliatory assault on three individuals using baseball bats and metal pipes in February after fellow member C (21) was assaulted by other customers at a karaoke room. A is also charged with instructing the submission of a false medical certificate to the police, claiming that C’s head and eye injuries, which were self-inflicted, were caused by the karaoke customers.

Furthermore, from March 2021 to May of this year, A and seven others reportedly carried out so-called "bat" beatings, where junior members were lined up and struck with baseball bats to establish discipline, on eight occasions. A total of 29 gang members were identified in this crackdown. Kkolmangpa, established in 1987 and based in Sindodong, Jung-gu, Incheon, accounted for 26 members, while the Ganseoksikgupa, based in Ganseokdong, had three members.

According to police investigations, most of the apprehended Kkolmangpa and Ganseoksikgupa gang members were born between 1990 and 2000, classifying them as the MZ generation. The prosecution explained that although Kkolmangpa’s power significantly weakened after many core members were arrested between 2010 and 2015, the group expanded again after 2020 by recruiting so-called 'MZ generation' members born between 1995 and 2006. Among the members, a 17-year-old teenager and a 21-year-old university student were confirmed to have joined and been active in the gang.

The MZ Generation Actively Participating in Fourth-Generation Organized Crime

As seen in previous cases, the so-called 'MZ gangsters' in their teens to thirties have steadily increased the strength of organized crime groups. Rather than traditional crimes such as intimidation and group assaults targeting ordinary citizens, they mainly committed crimes involving the formation or joining of violent organizations. Notably, among the 1,183 organized crime suspects arrested by the police in the second half of this year, 888, or 75%, were MZ generation gang members.

Last July, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Violent Crime Investigation Unit arrested a total of 51 people, including A (39), a member of an organized crime group who deceived buyers by selling unlisted stocks as if their listing was confirmed, and among them, 11 were detained and sent to prosecution.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Why are MZ generation members actively joining gangs? A police official explained, "The recent increase in MZ generation gangsters is driven by financial gain. They are actively involved in fourth-generation organized crimes such as voice phishing, investment scam chat rooms, and the distribution of forged bank accounts."

In fact, on this day, the Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested a large group of gang members who operated illegal pseudo-investment advisory sites, known as investment leading chat rooms, and swindled about 40 billion won from approximately 500 victims.

They are charged with fraud and aiding fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes for deceiving 572 victims out of whom they extorted a total of 41 billion won. Among the 87 people who operated the investment leading chat rooms, 41 were MZ generation gangsters in their twenties and thirties. Of these, seven were already under police surveillance, but 34 were newly recruited gang members affiliated with violent organizations in the Busan area, according to the police.

The method they used was different from traditional organized crime. First, they purchased personal information of people interested in investment or financial management, sent investment inducement messages, and then invited those who responded to group chat rooms to share fake investment success stories, deceiving the victims. In fact, those who posted the fake success stories were accomplices as well.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

The methods they used differed from traditional gang crimes. They first purchased personal information of people interested in investment or finance and sent investment inducement messages. When contacted, they invited the victims to group chat rooms where fake investment success stories were shared to deceive them. The individuals posting these fake success stories were accomplices. Then, they invited interested individuals to one-on-one chat rooms, deceiving them by saying, "Trust me and follow me, and you can make big money," to collect investment funds.

They did not actually invest in stocks or virtual assets but created fake investment sites that displayed falsely inflated profits on the screen, further convincing the victims. When victims tried to withdraw funds, they used tactics such as "It's not the right time yet. You might harm other investors" to dissuade them. The amounts extorted from each of the 572 victims ranged from several million won to as much as 700 million won. Victims included housewives, ordinary office workers, and even doctors.

They are reported to have lived a luxurious lifestyle, driving high-end foreign cars with money extorted from the victims. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Moreover, they divided roles among the mastermind, site managers, member recruiters, and forged bank account recruiters to carry out the fraud. They reportedly lived lavish lifestyles, driving luxury imported cars with the money extorted from victims. Nine individuals who lent their names for accounts and other credentials received an average of 20 million won each in exchange for providing accounts, OTP cards, and digital certificates. After about nine months of investigation, the police located the gang’s offices and hideouts, seized forged bank accounts and phones, and preemptively confiscated about 2.4 billion won in criminal proceeds before indictment. In cooperation with the Korea Communications Standards Commission, 32 fake investment sites were also shut down.

A police official stated, "It has been confirmed that MZ generation gangsters are now the main actors in violent criminal organizations. We plan to strictly crack down on local violent crime groups that threaten citizens' safety and create insecurity."