Forty members of a criminal gang that claims to succeed the Dongdaemun faction of Lee Jung-jae, who made a name as a political thug in the 1950s, were caught by police.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Major Crime Investigation Unit of the Regional Investigation Division said on the 23rd it arrested a total of 40 people, including 21 members of the "Dongdaemun faction" and 19 members of allied violent groups such as the "Sangye faction," "Itaewon faction," and "Eagles faction," on charges including violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Violent Crimes. Among them, 14 people, including A, 33, the Dongdaemun faction's operations chief, were detained.
According to police, A and others were active in the Dongdaemun faction from 2017 to February this year. They expanded their ranks by recruiting 16 people who were called the "top dog" during their middle and high school years in the area. They was found to have encouraged them to join, saying, "We are a legitimate organization that descends from Chairman Lee Jung-jae after liberation."
New recruits lived in a group dormitory, learned the organization's hierarchy and conduct, and engaged in violent acts as part of the gang's activities. Juniors had to address seniors as "hyeongnim" and refer to themselves as "dongsaeng." They appended "malsseumimnida" to the end of their sentences and performed a Japanese yakuza-style greeting by placing their hands on both knees and bowing at a 90-degree angle. Members were also forced to tattoo the organization's name, "Dongdaemun," in Chinese characters in the center of their chest.
After completing dormitory life, they lined up like a folding screen at organizational events to flaunt the Dongdaemun faction's clout or took on the role of an "emergency strike team" that deployed immediately when disputes with other groups arose. On Feb. in southern Seoul, when an argument broke out at a restaurant, they gathered 29 members, and more than 50 people, including members of the rival group, engaged in a mass brawl.
Through the investigation, police for the first time identified the group's "collective nature," including hierarchy, creed, and communication systems, and referred them to prosecutors on charges including engaging in a violent organization under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts. Police also detected indications that they committed crimes such as operating an investment "leading room," and decided to conduct additional investigations.
Bae Eun-cheol, head of the Major Crime Investigation Division 2 at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said, "It is meaningful in that we revealed the full picture of an organization with sustained hierarchy and collective nature by consolidation of individual assault and extortion cases," and explained, "If recognized as a violent criminal organization, members can be punished simply for joining or participating, and crimes committed by members can be subject to aggravated punishment."
He added, "Some young people may mistakenly think that becoming a gang member lets them drive foreign cars and make a lot of money, but in reality they are beaten in dormitories and must respond to emergency call-ups day and night," and said, "Even if they try to leave, they can face retaliation, so I want to emphasize that there is no romance in gang life."