Bat-beating, lottery scams: 97 gang members arrested in mass Incheon bust

The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office indicted 97 members of four crime groups for various offenses, highlighting a resurgence of gang activity among younger members using modern tactics.

Incheon District Prosecutors' Office [YONHAP]

The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office, in cooperation with police, arrested and indicted 97 members of four major organized crime rings in the region that have been active over the past three years, the prosecutors' office announced Monday.

The indicted individuals belong to the Ganseok Sikkupa, Juan Sikkupa, Kkolmangpa — also known as the Sinpodoeng Sikkupa — and Bupyeong Sikkupa, the four major organized crime groups based in Incheon. They face charges of organizing and participating in criminal organizations under the Act on the Punishment of Violence, among other offenses.

In particular, one member of the Bupyeong Sikkupa, a man in his 20s, was found to have beaten two junior members with a baseball bat between 2022 and 2024. During the police investigation, he reportedly attempted to pin the blame on another member.

Other gang members indiscriminately assaulted pedestrians without reason in busy downtown areas or assaulted and threatened citizens over excessive debt repayments to extort money.

Some were indicted for operating fake lottery number websites and defrauding about 5,000 victims of a total of 5.1 billion won ($3.5 million). They also committed used-car fraud totaling about 480 million won and cryptocurrency scams worth about 1 billion won.

A gang member in Incheon who was beaten with a baseball bat by a fellow gang member [INCHEON DISTRICT PROSECUTORS OFFICE]

Five gang members who engaged in a mass brawl at a restaurant in Yeonsu District, Incheon, last December, and four members who stole a luxury watch worth about 120 million won from a victim with gang ties in March, were also indicted.

The Incheon organized crime scene had been weakened after a major brawl at a hospital funeral hall in 2011, but prosecutors said a resurgence is underway as so-called Generation MZ members — millennials and Gen Z — are joining in large numbers.

Prosecutors noted that unlike previous generations, MZ gang members tend to form and dissolve groups around criminal activities rather than sticking to specific factions, and they actively share crime-related information via social media.

A photo of young gang members at a outdoors gathering in June last year [YONHAP]

They emphasized that by engaging in non-face-to-face crimes such as voice phishing and cryptocurrency fraud, these gangs are now harming ordinary citizens.

“The MZ generation joins organized crime as a way to flaunt their status, listing their gang affiliation in the occupation section of their social media profiles, exposing tattoos and sharing group photos,” prosecutors said.

“In public places, they create an atmosphere of intimidation by loudly exchanging 90-degree bow greetings in gangster style.”

Prosecutors added that “Young people who join gangs often express regret, saying, ‘It’s not like the movies,'” and stressed that they'll continue “preventive education efforts so that the younger generation understands that even merely joining a criminal organization can result in severe punishment.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]