Wearing 'Nojo' Armbands to Extort and Threaten at Construction Sites... They Were Real Gangsters

Forming a Union Under the Gyeongin Regional Headquarters Signboard
Extorted 120 Million Won Over 117 Incidents

An organized crime group that extorted money by threatening site managers while roaming construction sites has been apprehended.

The Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency arrested and sent to the prosecution a total of six people, including A, the deputy head of the Gyeongin Regional Headquarters of a certain construction labor union, B, the legal director, and C, the deputy director, three gangsters from the Incheon area, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (joint extortion), according to Yonhap News on the 5th.

An organized crime group that roamed construction sites, threatening site managers and others to extort money has been apprehended.
[Photo by Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency]

A and others are accused of extorting 120 million won 117 times under the pretext of union fees and welfare fees at nine construction sites in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon from September 2021 to February this year.

A, a rank-and-file member of an organization active in the Incheon area, formed a union under the banner of the Gyeongin Regional Headquarters of a nationwide construction labor union with about 20 branches on August 2020, based on his experience in union activities since 2017.

Subsequently, he recruited B and C, who belonged to another violent organization in Incheon that he knew, and began activities. They took key positions in the union, established a command and reporting system through mobile messengers, and gathered information on construction sites from internet sites to visit them.

They forced the use of their union members or equipment, and if refused, they held rallies with loudspeakers or flew drones to find illegal matters such as scattered dust and threatened the sites. They also extorted money under the name of union fees or welfare fees such as condolence and celebration expenses for union members.

They received money from construction companies over 3 to 6 months under the name of union fees and welfare fees for delivery unions. The police also reported that they collected protection fees, a gangster behavior targeting entertainment establishments, claiming to settle rival unions.

It was confirmed that they received monthly salaries ranging from 2 million to 6 million won according to their positions from the income obtained. The police arrested B early last month after uncovering his charges, and after additional investigations, arrested another gangster A, C, and three other union members involved in the crime at the end of last month.

The police identified that A and others received about 420 million won from more than 60 construction companies besides this case and are continuing to investigate additional damages. They also plan to investigate other related persons, including the head of the construction labor union headquarters.

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