Gangsters Numbering 5,200 Still Roaming Freely... Shifting Main Businesses to Gambling and Drugs

Police Agency Statistics... Actually More
Gyeonggi Nambu 22 Gangs 635 Members Most
Sejong Area Also 1 Gang 19 Members Active
Escaping Extortion and Group Violence in Entertainment Establishments
Evolving into Small-Scale Illegal Market Operations

[Asia Economy reporters Seongpil Jo and Byeongdon Yoo] Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and intensive crackdowns by the police, the influence of organized crime groups (jopok) has not diminished. It is analyzed that these groups have maintained their power by shifting from traditional nationwide jopok to smaller-scale operations focused on practical gains.

According to the "Status of Violent Organizations" received by Asia Economy from the National Police Agency on the 23rd, there were 206 gangs and 5,197 organized crime members active nationwide last year. The number of violent organizations showed little change over the past three years, with 208 gangs and 5,163 members in 2019, and 206 gangs and 5,211 members in 2020. This status was estimated based on the number of major violent organizations under police surveillance. The police explained that the actual number could be higher.

By region, the southern Gyeonggi area, including Suwon and Anyang, where local violent organizations have long been dominant, had the highest number with 22 gangs and 635 members. This was followed by Seoul (22 gangs, 517 members), Busan (21 gangs, 399 members), and Gyeongnam (20 gangs, 373 members). Conversely, the region with the fewest violent organizations was Sejong, with only one gang and 19 members active. Jeju (3 gangs, 137 members) and Ulsan (4 gangs, 92 members) also had relatively low numbers.

The police analyzed that the recent trend in violent organizations has evolved from the traditional method of expanding power by controlling large numbers of members to extort entertainment establishments or engage in group violence, to operating small-scale illegal markets. In fact, arrests for typical crimes such as violence and extortion decreased significantly from 1,226 and 225 in 2020 to 1,077 and 171 last year, respectively. When estimated as a proportion of total arrests, this represents a decrease of over 10 percentage points, from 52% to 41%.

On the other hand, arrests related to gambling and other speculative businesses, as well as drugs, increased during the same period from 295 (10%) to 657 (21%). Arrests for various intelligent crimes and other offenses not separately classified remained steady, with 1,071 (38%) in 2020 and 1,121 (37%) last year.

A National Police Agency official stated, "Compared to ten years ago, when traditional violent organizations led by heavyweight bosses were prevalent, the number of organizations and members has significantly decreased. The trend has been maintained for the past three to four years, but we continue to carry out intensive crackdowns." The police operate a dedicated investigation team for violent organizations, consisting of 1,408 members across 300 teams nationwide, centered on the violent crime investigation units of 18 metropolitan and provincial police agencies.

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