A group of Chinese individuals, who fled after stealing virtual currency worth 840 million won from a hotel in Jeju city, has been arrested.
The Jeju West Police Station said on the 20th that it has arrested six Chinese people, including a main suspect identified as A in his 40s, on charges of armed robbery. A and others are suspected of having stolen virtual currency worth 840 million won from two Chinese individuals in their 30s, including B, in a luxury hotel room in Jeju City at around 12:20 p.m. on the 16th.
According to the police, A and others agreed to receive virtual currency from the victims in exchange for cash of 1 billion won and a portion of the fees. Their transaction was facilitated by Chinese exchange intermediaries. A handed the agreed cash of 1 billion won to the victims in the hotel room. The victims, after receiving the money, transferred virtual currency worth 840 million won to A's wallet in seven installments.
However, A falsely accused the victims of being fraudsters, claiming that the virtual currency that had entered his wallet had disappeared. Subsequently, he took back the 1 billion won he had given to the victims and fled. During this process, A and others are reported to have assaulted the currency exchange operator.
Police, responding to victim reports, urgently arrested the main suspect A and another individual at the hotel. They also caught the remaining four individuals at Jeju International Airport and confiscated 369.6 million won in cash that they had hidden. The whereabouts of the remaining cash are also under investigation.
According to police investigations, it was confirmed that A's group entered Jeju on the 13th and 14th using a visa waiver entry system, claiming to be acquaintances or relatives. Victim B and others are identified as operators of a travel agency catering to Chinese tourists in Jeju.
Meanwhile, the virtual currency that was transferred to A's wallet was actually moved to another wallet. The police are currently tracking the ownership of that wallet. During the police investigation, A and others reportedly claimed that they were the victims and have not properly cooperated with statements.
The police are investigating the possibility that A's group may have embezzled virtual currency from the victims, based on the fact that if one knows the wallet account and password, they can access it from another device and conduct transactions.