Police are expanding their investigation as they arrest, one after another, people involved in privately contracted revenge crimes that have spread nationwide. Since the first case was identified in Daegu in Aug. last year, a total of 87 cases have occurred nationwide as of this month.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 21st that it arrested and detained the operator of a Telegram channel and field enforcers in connection with privately contracted revenge cases that recently occurred in areas including Incheon.
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency violent crime unit detained, on the 15th, a Telegram channel operator, identified only as A, on suspicion of ordering nine revenge-for-hire cases. After two field enforcers were arrested in May, A fled to Vietnam. A is suspected of directing revenge-for-hire in Incheon, Busan, Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang, and Jeju through Telegram, and of issuing orders even while on the run in Vietnam.
Police also detained all four field enforcers who, following A's orders, carried out the private revenge.
The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency violent crime unit also detained, on the 19th, one person in charge of managing funds for an organization linked to revenge-for-hire. Earlier, three people were detained in May alone. They were found to have used burner accounts or virtual assets to receive fees from clients or to pay for the crimes in order to evade tracking by investigative authorities.
Revenge-for-hire crimes refer to organizations that, after receiving money from clients, use field enforcers to carry out malicious acts of terror. Typical examples include dumping filth at someone's home or spraying lacquer.
The first occurrence was confirmed in Daegu in Aug. last year. Since then, as of the 17th of this month, a total of 87 cases have occurred nationwide. Police have solved 80 cases, and the remaining seven are under pursuit. Police also arrested 65 accomplices and detained 23 of them.
Violent crime units at metropolitan and provincial police agencies nationwide are continuing investigations into other higher-ups and the clients.
An official at the Korean National Police Agency said, "We view privately contracted revenge crimes, which shatter individuals' peaceful daily lives and disrupt social order, as serious crimes and are conducting intensive investigations," adding, "For revenge-for-hire crimes, our principle is to detain not only the actual perpetrators but also the clients."