1600+ Arrested in 100 Days of Organized Crime Crackdown... Seven Out of Ten Are in Their 30s or Younger

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 28th that it conducted a special crackdown on organized violent crime for 100 days starting in April, arresting 1,630 individuals, of whom 307 were detained.

According to the arrest status for the first half of this year, 54.6% (1,056 people) were members of organized crime groups already under police surveillance, and 6.3% (122 people) were newly recruited members. The police explained that they cracked down on 39.1% (758 people) involved in organized violent crimes, thereby preventing the development into violent organizations in advance. Organized violent crimes refer to crimes committed jointly by gang members and non-members, as well as crimes using the power of groups or multiple people.

Among the 1,630 arrested, 827 (50.8%) were involved in crimes infringing on the daily lives of ordinary citizens, 572 (35.1%) in corporate and intelligent crimes, and 231 (14.1%) in other crimes. The police noted that the proportion of arrests related to corporate and intelligent crimes has continuously increased, rising by 10% compared to 2020.

The proportion of young people aged 30 or younger was 68.7%, indicating that many young members were arrested, and those with nine or more prior convictions accounted for 55.5%, more than half. Additionally, the value of criminal proceeds seized and preserved before prosecution in the first half of this year was 4.78 billion KRW, significantly higher than the total of 2.48 billion KRW for the entire last year.

The National Police Agency stated, "Considering the recent trend of minor disputes escalating into group assaults between organizations, we operate joint response teams from the early stages whenever intelligence is received regarding various celebrations or gatherings to prepare for conflicts between violent organizations."

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