Two Chinese Suspects in 'KT Small-Amount Payment Case' to Be Referred to Prosecution Tomorrow

Chinese Suspect Claims
"Acted Under Orders from Superiors"

The police, who have been investigating the KT unauthorized small-amount payment case, plan to refer the Chinese male suspects to the prosecution while they remain in custody.

On the 24th, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that it would refer Mr. A, a 48-year-old Chinese national of Korean descent, to the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 25th. He is being held in custody on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (infringement), as well as computer fraud and related offenses.

Mr. A is accused of driving around apartment complexes in Gwangmyeong, Bucheon Sosa, and Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province; Geumcheon, Dongjak, and Seocho in Seoul; and Bupyeong in Incheon, carrying an illegal small base station (femtocell) in his vehicle between August 5 and September 5. His superior allegedly instructed him to commit the crimes, hacking into the mobile phones of KT users in those areas and making unauthorized small-amount payments for mobile gift certificates and transportation card recharges.

As of September 22, the police had received reports from 214 victims, with total damages amounting to approximately 136.5 million won. According to KT's own tally, there were 362 victims and damages of about 240 million won. In addition, Ilsandong-gu in Goyang City has also been identified as an affected area, so the scale of damages is expected to increase further.

Chinese nationals A (left) and B, suspects in the KT unauthorized small-amount payment case, are coming out of the detention center at Suwon Yeongtong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 18th to attend the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing). Photo by Yonhap News

Mr. A, who had been working as a day laborer in Korea and is known as a Joseonjok (ethnic Korean from China), testified that he participated in the crime after experiencing financial hardship, receiving 5 million won from a Chinese superior. He claimed that he acted according to instructions such as "Go to apartment complexes with a large population" and "Move around during the early morning hours when the signal is strong."

Mr. A received directions for crime locations via Telegram and drove to the designated sites. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage reportedly shows Mr. A repeatedly circling the same spot in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

After continuing the crimes for about a month, Mr. A stopped his activities on September 5, when KT blocked abnormal small-amount payment attempts, following instructions from his superior. He then took preliminary measures to send the femtocell device to China via a courier. After briefly traveling to China, he returned to Korea on September 16 at around 2 p.m., unaware that he had been identified as a suspect, and was apprehended by the police.

Another Chinese national of Korean descent, Mr. B (44), who was arrested shortly after Mr. A, is accused of exchanging the proceeds of unauthorized small-amount payments for paper department store gift certificates through multiple transactions, and then cashing them out, under instructions from Mr. A's superior. Of the total criminal proceeds of about 200 million won, he sent all but his share of approximately 10 million won to a Chinese bank account via a domestic currency exchange. The 200 million won remitted by Mr. B includes all the confirmed damages from the KT unauthorized small-amount payment case to date.

The police have also booked a Chinese national in his 60s who operates a currency exchange for conspiring to remit funds suspected to be illegal proceeds to China. However, the police stated that they cannot disclose details regarding the identity or number of superiors who instructed Mr. A and Mr. B, as the investigation is ongoing. Due to the expiration of the detention period, Mr. B will also be referred to the prosecution in custody, and the remaining investigation will continue.