Ride owner busted for blackmail, drugs and sexual exploitation

Police on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for an amusement ride owner suspected of blackmailing his employees to extort ride payments from teenage girls. The employees are accused of forcing teenage girls into prostitution to meet their ...

The entrance of an amusement ride in Suwon, Gyeonggi. A 45-year-old ride owner is accused of blackmailing his employees to extort payments from teenagers. Employees forced these young students into prostitution if they were unable to pay for the tickets they bought on credit. [SON SUNG-BAE]

Police on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for an amusement ride owner suspected of blackmailing his employees to extort ride payments from teenage girls. The employees are accused of forcing teenage girls into prostitution to meet their boss's target.

The 45-year-old owner, identified by his surname Gong, is accused of instructing and threatening his employees to sell a large number of tickets for a tagada, commonly known as "disco pang pang" in Korea, in every way possible.

He allegedly threatened the employees by saying he was close to gangsters.

According to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police, he specifically ordered his employees “to bring elementary school students and naive kids walking on the street” and sell at least 800 tickets a day.

Police said the employees sold tickets to teenagers in bulk, put them on a tab and forced them into prostitution if they were unable to pay them back.

A disco pang pang is a circular ride that spins and bounces up and down. Riders sit on the edge of the circle with no seatbelts on but only bars behind them to hold onto.

DJs operate the ride, play music and MC the ride.

Some employees even raped the teenagers, blackmailed men who sexually assaulted the students and used drugs like liquid cannabis with the students.

At least 20 students were reported to have been raped and forced into prostitution.

Some managers said they had to pay 500,000 won ($380) to one million won to hit their targets.

These managers reportedly forced disco pang pang’s DJs to mislead teenage girls to sell more tickets.

To promote sales, the company also offered vouchers, such as dates with a DJ, to those who purchased tickets in bulk.

During the investigation, police said some teenage girls were so misled by the employees that some refused to attend investigations, asking police why they are taking their “nice oppa [a Korean term, often affectionate, for an older male] into custody.”

Gong began operating amusement rides in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, in December 2011.

He expanded the business across the country to 11 areas, including Bucheon in Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong, Busan and Daegu.

According to police, Gong used the illegal profits to establish a new business under his wife’s name.

He lived in a high-end apartment complex in Banpo-dong of Seocho District in southern Seoul and drove a luxury car.

Police suspect he raised some 30 million won of criminal proceeds over a year.

Some 25 people have been apprehended. Sixteen of them related to the business, including Gong, and nine acquaintances have been apprehended for blackmailing, forced prostitution, rape and drug use.

Twelve have been detained.

Police began investigating the case after a teenage girl told her close friend that she was forced into having sex by the DJs on Feb. 8.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, SON SUNG-BAE [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]