Chinese Crime in Jeju Crosses the Line
Urns Stolen and Temple Blackmailed
Two Chinese men broke into a columbarium at a temple in Jeju, stole urns containing ashes, hid them, and fled, prompting a police investigation.
The Dongbu Police Station announced on the 26th that around 1:10 a.m. on the 24th, two Chinese men in their 40s stole six urns from a columbarium at a temple in Jeju City.
They hid three urns each in two locations in a nearby mountain about 5 km away, then left the country that morning, traveling directly to Hong Kong before moving on to Cambodia. They later sent a video of the stolen urns to the temple and demanded $2 million (approximately 2.87 billion KRW) to retrieve them.
It is known that they entered Jeju visa-free on the 18th and scouted the temple in advance to prepare for the crime.
The police mobilized about 40 personnel over three days from the 24th to the 26th, searching the nearby mountain while reviewing the video, and recovered all six urns. The urns were immediately returned to the victims' families.
The police are pursuing the two Chinese men on charges of special theft and unlawful possession of human ashes. Authorities stated, "Since the Chinese suspects left the country just before the report was filed, we plan to request an Interpol warrant," and added, "It is necessary to install locks or closed-circuit television (CCTV) inside columbaria. Also, if any damage occurs, please report it immediately to 112."
Meanwhile, as overseas travel resumed after the COVID-19 endemic, crimes involving Chinese nationals in Jeju have been gradually increasing. According to foreign crime arrest statistics over the past six years, the numbers were 732 in 2019, 629 in 2020, 505 in 2021, 516 in 2022, 535 in 2023, and a provisional 608 in 2024, showing an upward trend since 2021. Approximately 70% of foreign crimes are known to be committed by Chinese nationals.
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