Death of Former Chilseong Gang Boss Lee Kang-hwan in Movie 'Friend'... Police "Prepared for Any Contingencies"

Lee Kang-hwan, the former boss of the Chilseongpa, the largest criminal organization in Busan, has passed away.

According to the Busan Nambu Police Station, Lee Kang-hwan died around 5 a.m. on the 19th while receiving treatment at a hospital for several months due to a chronic illness.

Lee Kang-hwan, former boss of Chilsungpa, the largest violent organization in Busan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A funeral hall has been set up at a hospital in Yongho-dong, Nam-gu.

A police official stated, “We plan to deploy detectives from the Nambu and Seobu Police Stations to prepare for any possible incidents.”

Since the 1970s, Chilseongpa has dominated the underworld based in central Busan areas such as Nampo-dong, Chungmu-dong, and Gwangbok-dong in Jung-gu. From the mid-1980s onward, they expanded to Seoul and other regions, leveraging profits from karaoke bars, nightclubs, entertainment establishments, and methamphetamine trafficking.

Chilseongpa was also featured as the basis for the criminal organization ‘Shin 20th Century-pa’ in the movie Friend.

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