MZ Gangsters Growing Power Through MMA Training Arrested in Large Numbers... 12 Including Action Leaders Detained

Police Arrest 56 Organized Crime Members Active in Pyeongtaek
Applied Crime Syndicate Organization Charges After Analyzing Over 300 Verdicts

A group of young organized crime members in their 20s and 30s, who had been expanding their influence through mixed martial arts (MMA) training, were arrested en masse by the police.

A gang of organized crime members in their 20s to 30s.
[Photo by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency]

The Criminal Mobile Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency announced on the 15th that they had arrested 12 members, including A (37), an action squad leader of the violent organization J faction active in the Pyeongtaek area, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (organization and activities of groups), and booked 44 others, including B (34), without detention.

Investigations revealed that they had established a command system including codes of conduct, communication networks, meetings, and retaliation against members who left the group, and committed organized crimes such as confrontations with rival organizations and involvement in profit-related violence.

A is suspected of emergency assembling about 20 members after receiving a report on December 13, 2020, that some subordinate members had a dispute with members of the P faction, the largest violent organization in the southern Gyeonggi area, in preparation for clashes between organizations.

C (47, detained) is accused of causing a disturbance by entering a nightlife establishment operated by a rival organization W faction on June 3, 2022, to seize control of the brothel business, assaulting employees, and subsequently gathering about 10 members to prepare for further conflicts.

D (36, detained) and three others are charged with extorting approximately 230 million KRW by collecting 1 million KRW monthly protection money from about 30 entertainment establishments in the Pyeongtaek area from April 2015 to August last year.

About 10 others, including B, who were booked without detention, are suspected of injuring three members who had disputes in March 2019 by beating them with baseball bats in an act known as 'julbbata.'

Additionally, individual crimes by the group members were confirmed, including renting out board game cafes to illegally operate holdem pub gambling establishments.

The police stated that over the past 1 year and 7 months, they confirmed a total of 26 criminal charges through analysis of phone call records among members, CCTV footage related to crimes, account analysis, and recordings of incarcerated members.

Among the cases forwarded by the police, 14 were related to organized crime and 12 were individual crimes.

The J faction, to which the arrested members belong, is a violent organization formed in 1995 and has been under police surveillance. The police had previously attempted twice to apply the crime of organizing a criminal group against J faction but failed due to lack of evidence.

In response, the police analyzed about 300 court rulings related to J faction members to prove the organization's existence and compiled cases not yet expired by the statute of limitations to apply the so-called 'Article 4 of the Violence Punishment Act' (crime of organizing a criminal group) this time.

Violent organizations convicted under the crime of organizing a criminal group can face imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 2 years just for joining the organization.

J faction members reportedly recruited teenagers known locally for their fighting skills as well as absorbing members from rival organizations.

In particular, A, the de facto operator of the organization, instructed juniors to undergo MMA training to ensure they would not lose in fights against rival groups.

Among the 56 members arrested by the police, 49 were in their 20s and 30s, known as the MZ generation, making up the majority of the organization.

Victims such as entertainment business owners who were extorted by these members were too afraid of retaliation to file even a single report.

A police official stated, "We will strongly punish all crimes that disturb the peaceful daily lives of citizens, including organized violence," adding, "The police have deployed Criminal Mobile Units (Suwon, Seongnam, Osan, Siheung, Bucheon) to crime scenes in response to organizational restructuring."