A gang that attempted to rebuild an organization that was disbanded over 20 years ago has been taken down by police on charges of group assault and other crimes.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's criminal investigation unit announced on the 14th that it has sent a total of 34 members of the organized crime group 'New Southern Faction' and its followers, who face charges such as organizing and operating a collective under the Violent Acts Punishment Act and extortion, to the prosecution. Among them, 9, including the deputy leader, Mr. A, have been sent to custody.
The police have designated 5 fleeing members of the organization as wanted and have invalidated the passports of 2 others who are currently staying in Vietnam, taking Interpol red notice actions.
They are accused of extorting a total of about 100 million won from local unregistered job placement agencies and so-called 'brothel' owners in Gangseo District of Seoul, under the pretense of 'protection fees,' collecting 200,000 to 1.5 million won each month, and engaging in violence.
According to police investigations, they also committed violence and extortion against internal members of the organization. Members who did not follow orders were known to have been assaulted with baseball bats or were confined and beaten collectively if they had withdrawn from the organization. They also created a 'code of conduct' that required members to keep their mobile phones on at all times to maintain communication, and mandated reporting a week in advance if traveling more than 50 km, thus managing members in a coercive and systematic manner.
New members were trained to bow at a 90-degree angle to greet the 'brother' when they met and to reply to letters from the 'brother' by saying, 'I gratefully received the letter you sent with both hands.' Members over the age of 30 were charged a monthly fee of 100,000 to 1 million won, raising funds worth 2.4 billion won. The police reported that 10 members had voluntarily left the organization due to monitoring, extortion, and violence.
The predecessor of the New Southern Faction is the 'Southern Faction' that was based near Yeongdeungpo District Office in the 1980s. This organization disbanded in 2003 when its leader, Mr. Jeon, was apprehended. However, Mr. A, who was following the New Southern Faction members at the time, officially joined in 2007 and attempted to rebuild the organization by actively recruiting new members, becoming a key figure, while surpassing the aging nominal leader.
Including Mr. A, members of the organization encouraged local juniors in their 10s to 30s to join the organization by saying, 'If you fight well, you qualify,' and it has been investigated that they also searched for and recruited new members while incarcerated.
According to the police, there are a total of 37 confirmed official members of the New Southern Faction, of which more than 40%, or 16 members, joined in the last five years. The majority, 27 members, were in their 20s, and most were unemployed or working temporary jobs. Among them were even high school students who were members.
The police gathered intelligence regarding the New Southern Faction and apprehended members between July of last year and March of this year, again dismantling the organization. The police stated, 'We will continue to take the lead in eradicating violent organizations with a dedicated investigation team.'