[Economic Crime 24 Hours] Framing for Fare Evasion and Retaliatory Assault... 'Inmyeonsusim' Runaway Gang

"A man in his 20s begged the police to 'send me to jail'
Repeatedly dined and dashed... Brutally beaten by a runaway gang"

On May 19th, a dine-and-dash report was filed at the Gwanak Police Station in Seoul. The Investigation Team 2 at Gwanak Station immediately dispatched officers to the scene and arrested Mr. A (27) on the spot for eating food without paying. Due to frequent dine-and-dash reports around the same time, the police were conducting intense investigations on Mr. A when he quietly muttered one sentence.

"I want to go to jail even if it’s like this."

Noticing something unusual, the officers examined Mr. A and found bruises all over his body. After some persuasion, Mr. A reluctantly opened up, and upon hearing his story, the police decided to expand the investigation.

Before the incident, Mr. A had been living with a runaway group. This runaway group consisted of six people living together at the home of their leader, Mr. B (27), including Mr. A, another man Mr. C (26), and three women, Ms. D (25), Ms. E (24), and Ms. F (24). Being small and frail, Mr. A was intimidated by the relatively larger Mr. B and Mr. C and found it difficult to refuse their difficult requests.

The appearance of a runaway group who visited a restaurant in Gwanak-gu, Seoul last May (left) and the CCTV footage showing Mr. A left alone after dining and dashing. [Photo by Gwanak Police Station, Seoul]

Since May, this runaway group had been going around restaurants in the Gwanak-gu area of Seoul, repeatedly dining and dashing. Mr. A was always left behind at the restaurant to take the so-called “blame” alone. When the others left the restaurant under the pretense of going to the restroom or smoking, Mr. A was left to clean up the mess. Mr. A had already been investigated by the police three times for dine-and-dash incidents.

Afraid of Mr. B and Mr. C, Mr. A repeatedly denied knowing who the companions were during police investigations, claiming he had no contact information. However, during the third police interrogation, under persistent questioning, he confessed the names and addresses of Mr. B and Mr. C. The police confirmed that Mr. B and Mr. C had outstanding fines due to fraud and failure to attend reserve military service, respectively, and arrested them.

However, during the police investigation, they denied ever threatening or coercing Mr. A. As a result, the police could not apply charges of dine-and-dash or fraud but only enforced the execution of the fines and handed Mr. B and Mr. C over to the prosecution. Mr. B and Mr. C paid their fines and were immediately released.

Upon returning to the runaway group, Mr. A was subjected to assault by Mr. C. At a children’s park in Gwanak-gu, Mr. C brutally assaulted Mr. A, who is one year younger, by kicking his face. Mr. C also shouted at Mr. A, asking, “Did you tell the police our names and addresses?”

CCTV footage captured in May at a children's park in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, showing Mr. B assaulting Mr. A. [Photo by Gwanak Police Station, Seoul]

Eventually, unable to endure this pressure, Mr. A decided to commit another dine-and-dash offense to get himself arrested. He could not think of any other way to escape the runaway group. The police detained Mr. A on May 21st, three days after his arrest, and sent him to the prosecution on May 24th.

The police additionally charged the other five members of the runaway group with dine-and-dash and fraud, consolidating the dine-and-dash cases reported to Gwanak Station and continuing the investigation. Mr. C, who assaulted Mr. A, was also charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (retaliatory assault). The police obtained arrest warrants for Mr. B and Mr. C, arrested them on June 3rd, and detained Mr. C three days later.

Police investigations revealed that Mr. C had four prior convictions, and the leader Mr. B had a staggering 26 prior convictions (including protective measures). In particular, Mr. B had committed various crimes such as robbery, theft, fraud, and violations of the Child Welfare Act, and was also confirmed to have been involved as a buyer in a recent socially problematic jeonse (long-term lease) fraud case. The police applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. B as well, but the court dismissed it, stating that the charges were sufficiently proven and there was no additional evidence to be destroyed.

This ruthless runaway group, who not only repeatedly dined and dashed but also intimidated and assaulted their companions, ultimately faced trial. Mr. A, who had wished for arrest out of despair over his situation, is also being judged by the law for his involvement in the dine-and-dash offenses. Their trial is currently underway at the Seoul Central District Court.