The ringleader of an organized group that continued the same crime by shifting areas of activity after being caught distributing a large number of illegal flyers around Gangnam Station in Seoul has been arrested by police. It is the first time a ringleader in flyer distribution has been detained.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 6th, police arrested and detained a ringleader, identified only by the surname A, on Feb. 27. A is accused of distributing a large number of illegal flyers.
A was found to have been caught twice by police for blanketing the area around Gangnam Station in 2024 and 2025 with illegal flyers containing sexually suggestive phrases such as "shirt room." After crackdowns intensified in the Gangnam area, A was found to have shifted the scope of activity to Bucheon and Ilsan to continue the same crime.
The public morals crime investigation team at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency booked eight people in succession from July last year to February this year, including four flyer distributors such as A, as well as entertainment establishment owners and employees and flyer production printers.
During a search and seizure of a print shop, police confirmed indications that A had commissioned the production of flyers to be distributed in Bucheon and Ilsan to evade the crackdown in Gangnam. Determining that there was a possibility A could flee and repeat the crime, police also obtained an arrest warrant and took A into custody.
After completing additional investigation, police plan to detain and refer A to the prosecution on the day. The remaining seven accomplices will be referred to prosecutors without detention.
A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "Disorderly flyer distribution is no longer a minor crime," adding, "We will pursue not only illegal flyer distributors but also production brokers, printers, and clients and respond sternly."