Illegal Gambling Site Operation Organization Worth 5.7 Trillion Won Exposed... Possible Main Culprit in 'Gimje Maneulbat Incident'

20 Domestic Officials Arrested, 171 Indicted... Estimated Criminal Proceeds of 65.5 Billion Won
Site Operated Domestically with Servers in China... Chinese Headquarters Operator Suspected of Hiding 11 Billion Won in 'Maneulbat'

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency has apprehended an organization operating an illegal gambling site worth 5.7 trillion won. The photo shows gambling proceeds seized by the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A group operating illegal gambling sites worth about 5.7 trillion KRW for over eight years with servers located in China has been arrested by the police, having pocketed 65.5 billion KRW.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 23rd that they arrested 20 people, including the domestic head A (59), on charges of organizing and participating in a criminal organization, and sent 171 others, including recruiter B (56), to the prosecution without detention.

They are suspected of operating illegal gambling sites in China and South Korea from January 2014 to last July. The organization was divided into a Chinese headquarters responsible for developing gambling programs and managing servers, and a domestic headquarters operating the actual gambling sites. The domestic headquarters consisted of general distributors recruiting gambling members and illegal adult PC bangs (61 locations) providing games, operating in a pyramid-style multi-level structure. The Chinese headquarters took 12.7% of gambling profits as commission, followed by the domestic headquarters with 10.3%, general distributors 9.6%, stores 8.9%, and currency exchange and withdrawal organizations 5%, distributing the criminal proceeds with differentiated shares.

Illegal adult PC room caught. Photo by Yonhap News

They operated 16 illegal gambling sites offering games such as Go-Stop, Hold'em, and slots, using overseas servers to evade crackdowns. They even had domestic call centers responsible for member recruitment, management, and game money charging, frequently relocating offices to avoid raids. They meticulously avoided detection by sharing manuals on how to act in case of police arrest. According to police officials, they regularly reset vehicle black box data and primarily used highly secure iPhones in preparation for arrest. The suspects exercised their right to remain silent during police investigations, refusing to disclose iPhone passwords.

Analysis of bank accounts where gambling funds were deposited estimated the criminal proceeds to be about 65.5 billion KRW. Subsequently, cash, gold bars, cars, as well as real estate and deposits worth approximately 6.7 billion KRW held under aliases by A and others were seized and preserved for confiscation and recovery.

Meanwhile, the police are pursuing international cooperation investigations on the possibility that the still-at-large Chinese headquarters site operator is the main culprit in the "110 billion KRW garlic field concealment" case that occurred in Gimje in 2011. The Gimje garlic field case involved a couple who owned a garlic field burying 11 billion KRW in illegal gambling site proceeds received from the wife's brother-in-law underground, which was uncovered after a report by an excavator operator.

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