Gambling Industry, Loan Sharks, and Drug Trafficking... Evolving 'Jopok' Crimes

Assemblyman Park Jae-ho's Audit Data
Organized Crime Expands into Intelligent Crime 영역

Park Jae-ho, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. / Provided by the member's office

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The so-called 'jopok'?organized crime groups?are evolving. As it has become difficult for jopok to survive through simple illegal businesses and violence, they are shifting to intelligent crimes such as entering the gambling industry or extorting money from ordinary citizens.

According to the 'Organized Crime Arrest Status in the Last 5 Years' submitted by the National Police Agency to Park Jae-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 14,462 jopok were arrested from 2016 to August of this year.

Among them, 6,941 (48%) were arrested for acts of violence. This was followed by 1,342 for illegal gambling operations, 613 for extortion targeting ordinary citizens, 307 for illegal distribution of narcotics, and 274 for extortion in entertainment establishments.

Looking at the number of arrests by local police agencies, Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency had the highest with 2,644. Seoul Police Agency had 1,551, Jeonbuk 1,155, Gyeongnam 1,080, and Daejeon 1,032, following behind.

In particular, the number of arrests for acts of violence decreased annually from 1,605 in 2017 to 1,390 in 2018 and 1,257 last year, whereas illegal gambling operations steadily increased during the same period from 226 to 317 and then 341. Although still at a low level, arrests for tax evasion and private loan businesses also increased from 13 to 31 and then 62. This is evidence that jopok are expanding their territory beyond typical violent crimes into intelligent crimes.

Among organized crime groups arrested for extortion targeting ordinary citizens, Seoul accounted for the highest at 25%, while illegal gambling operations were most prevalent in Gyeongnam at 17%.

Assemblyman Park pointed out, "In the past, organized crime was mainly arrested for violence over interests such as illegal gambling halls or entertainment establishments or for major crimes, but recently, organized crime is shifting to livelihood-type crimes targeting ordinary citizens through assault or threats."

He added, "As the nature of organized crime changes, the police must respond strictly to organized crime groups that harass ordinary citizens through violence."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.