Establishment of Government Joint Investigation Team for Voice Phishing Crimes... Unified Reporting and Response System

Integrated Voice Phishing Reporting and Response Center Step-by-Step Operation Plan. / Data provided by the Office for Government Policy Coordination

[Asia Economy Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter, Heo Kyung-jun Reporter] The government has prepared special measures to prevent the increasing damage caused by voice phishing crimes every year.

Until now, the phone and internet reporting channels, which were dispersed across different ministries, will be unified into an integrated reporting and response center centered on the National Police Agency, and a government joint investigation team for voice phishing crimes, in which related agencies including the prosecution and police cooperate, will be established within the prosecution.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination announced on the 23rd that on the 21st, it held an inter-ministerial countermeasure meeting against cybercrimes such as voice phishing at the Government Seoul Office, attended by officials from related agencies including the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Justice, Korea Communications Commission, Financial Services Commission, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, National Police Agency, Financial Supervisory Service, National Intelligence Service, and Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), and decided accordingly.

Since the first reported case of voice phishing damage in Korea in 2006, despite various measures prepared by government and private institutions and continuous crackdowns over the past 16 years, the damage has continued to increase.

According to statistics from the National Police Agency, the annual damage amount in 2021 was 774.4 billion KRW, an increase of about 11% compared to the previous year (700 billion KRW), while the number of arrests related to voice phishing suspects was 26,397, which decreased by 33.5% compared to 39,713 the previous year.

Looking at the types of crimes, corporate-type voice phishing organizations involving organized crime groups have been uncovered, and the methods of crime are becoming increasingly specialized and sophisticated, such as document forgery and distribution of malicious programs, making it necessary to strengthen national investigative capabilities against voice phishing and implement special government-wide measures.

First, the government plans to establish a government-wide joint 'Voice Phishing Integrated Reporting and Response Center' within this year.

The center will be centered on the National Police Agency, with personnel dispatched from the Korea Communications Commission, Ministry of Science and ICT, Financial Supervisory Service, KISA, etc. It will unify the currently dispersed phone reporting channels at the police, KISA, and Financial Supervisory Service into a single 112 hotline, and also integrate the internet sites operated by each ministry into one site, completely streamlining the procedures from report reception to processing.

Furthermore, by accumulating and analyzing reporting data, the center plans to build an integrated analysis and response system that can be immediately utilized as various administrative action materials such as investigations, refund of crime damages, suspension of phone numbers used in crimes, account payment suspension, and relief for victims of identity theft.

Additionally, the government has decided to establish and operate a 'Voice Phishing Government Joint Investigation Team' composed of related government agencies including the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, National Police Agency, Korea Customs Service, National Tax Service, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Communications Commission.

The joint investigation team will be established at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, and all related agencies including the prosecution, police, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Communications Commission will cooperate to mobilize government-wide capabilities to conduct large-scale joint crackdowns.

The joint investigation team will be composed of 5 to 6 prosecutor offices led by a senior prosecutor-level team leader and plans to operate police investigation teams and financial investigation cooperation teams. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated that detailed organization plans and operational methods will be discussed with related agencies through working-level consultations.

Currently, under the adjustment of investigative authority, the prosecution can only investigate voice phishing crimes involving damage amounts of 500 million KRW or more or cases directly related to those transferred by the police.

Therefore, not only the main suspects and senior members of voice phishing organizations related to cash collectors transferred by the police, but also organizations distributing fake bank accounts and phones, and organizations transferring damage funds overseas cannot be investigated unless direct relevance to transferred cases is recognized, making joint investigations with the police, which have no restrictions on investigation scope, absolutely necessary.

The prosecution plans to thoroughly investigate from the lowest-level cash collectors and providers of fake bank accounts to call center employees and top-level organization leaders, actively indicting them not only for fraud but also for organizing and operating criminal groups, aiming to secure heavy sentences. They will also ensure thorough investigations into overseas transfer of damage funds, tax evasion, and recovery of criminal proceeds, while simultaneously implementing related measures such as victim recovery, administrative sanctions against telecommunications companies, and dissolution of ghost corporations.

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