Police said on the 17th that they arrested two male ethnic Chinese suspects in the "KT unauthorized micro-payments" case. Both are Chinese nationals, commonly referred to as Joseonjok, and were reportedly staying in Korea legally.
The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said it arrested an ethnic Chinese man, A (48), at Incheon International Airport at about 2:03 p.m. on the 16th. A is suspected of loading illegal small base station equipment into a van and hacking the phones of KT users in specific areas of the Seoul metropolitan area from late last month to early this month to make small payments such as purchasing mobile gift certificates and recharging transit cards.
The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency also made an emergency arrest of another ethnic Chinese man, B (44), at about 2:53 p.m. on the 16th in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. B is suspected of cashing out the small-payment transactions.
A police official said, "A admits that on the day of the crime, he loaded the illegal small base station equipment into his vehicle and drove around the vicinity of the area where the damage occurred," adding, "Police also secured the illegal small base station equipment that A used in the crime."
Police plan to seek arrest warrants for A and B. They are also conducting additional investigations into the suspects' motives and the circumstances of the crime.