Police "Strict Response Policy to Illegal Activities"
Six members of an 'MZ generation (Millennial + Z generation)' organized crime group were handed over to the prosecution on charges of spraying fire extinguishers and committing collective violence at an entertainment bar.
On the 23rd, the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency announced that they had sent Mr. A, in his 20s, to detention on the 22nd on charges of special assault and obstruction of business, while the remaining five were sent without detention.
They are MZ generation gangsters of the same age group and are accused of entering an entertainment bar in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, on February 18, opening rooms despite staff objections, spraying fire extinguishers, and forcing customers to leave, thereby disrupting business. When the staff blocked their entry saying "there are no vacant rooms," they reportedly committed the crime to show off their gangster status.
They are gangsters active in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daegu, and Gyeongbuk, and were identified to have visited the bar after attending a gangster wedding held in Gyeongsan.
The affected establishment was operated by a Vietnamese national owner.
MZ generation organized crime gang disrupting business at an entertainment bar in Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongbuk. [Image source=Gyeongbuk Police Agency, Yonhap News]
Initially, the police faced difficulties in the investigation as the victims, fearing retaliation, claimed to have reached an agreement with them. However, after continuous persuasion, victim statements were secured, and by analyzing closed-circuit television (CCTV) inside the entertainment bar, the suspects were gradually apprehended.
A police official stated, "Recently, MZ generation gangsters have been frequently exerting their power in public places regardless of their organizations," adding, "We plan to respond strictly to their illegal activities."
Previously, a similar incident occurred in Chungbuk where MZ generation gangsters caused a disturbance to demonstrate their power. In March, the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency sent three people, including Mr. A (25), to detention on charges of obstructing business by taking off their shirts, exposing tattoos, and spitting on the floor at a restaurant in Eumseong County. Mr. A and others, affiliated with a gangster group in the Cheongju area, are accused of loudly disturbing the restaurant in January, verbally abusing other customers to drive them out, and damaging chairs and signboards, thereby disrupting business.
According to the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Headquarters, among the four gangsters recently arrested, three were MZ generation gangsters in their teens to 30s. During the 'Second Half Organized Crime Crackdown' conducted from August to December last year, the police arrested 1,183 gangsters, of whom 189 were detained. Among them, those aged 30 or younger (teens to 30s) accounted for the largest number at 888 (75.0%), followed by ▲ 210 in their 40s (17.8%) ▲ 85 aged 50 or older (7.2%).
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