The Positive Side of 'KakaoTalk Error'?…Key Contributor in Catching Housewives' Gambling Ring

KakaoTalk Chat Messages Not Received Smoothly, Unable to Prepare for Crackdown
Police: "Everyone Sat Down and Focused on Gambling That Day... Investigating Habitual Gambling"

The KakaoTalk incident that occurred last weekend is reported to have helped in apprehending about 30 members of a housewife gambling ring. The photo is unrelated to the article content. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Bora Lee] Due to the recent KakaoTalk outage, the police successfully apprehended over 30 members of a housewife gambling ring.

According to Yonhap News on the 19th, the Iksan Police Station in Jeonbuk booked 31 people on the 16th who were gambling on the so-called 'Dorijitgo Ttaeng' game in a commercial building in Iksan, Jeonbuk, and seized gambling funds worth approximately 12 million won.

However, a fire occurred at the SK C&C data center that day, and due to errors caused by this, the housewife gambling ring was able to be caught all at once. Because KakaoTalk message reception was disrupted, the gamblers were unable to prepare for the crackdown.

The gambling den was reportedly operated with roles such as the general manager called 'Changgogjang,' the lender of gambling funds called 'Kkongji,' the person serving drinks called 'Bacchus,' and the lookout called 'Munbang' who watched out for police raids.

On that day as well, when a man unfamiliar to the gambling den appeared, the lookout informed the KakaoTalk chatroom where the gamblers gathered. However, this message was not delivered due to the nationwide KakaoTalk errors at the time, and the housewife gambling ring could not escape.

The police quietly opened the door of the two-story commercial building and entered the gambling den before the gamblers noticed. It is reported that the gamblers, deeply engrossed in their game, were caught without even putting down the Hwatu cards in their hands.

A police official who responded to the scene said, "When we raided gambling dens, someone would often block the door, so detectives had to force their way in. Inside, it was a so-called 'chaotic blues' with people hiding Hwatu cards and playing cards, gathering money, and escaping through the back door in a frenzy. But that day, everyone was sitting and focused on gambling."

He added, "Thanks to the KakaoTalk chatroom error, no one was able to escape, and all the gambling offenders were caught in one place. We are investigating whether those caught are habitual gamblers."

Kakao issued a public apology on the 19th, and Namgung Hoon, the co-CEO in charge of the service division, took responsibility and abruptly resigned.

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