Another Suspected "Revenge-for-Hire" Crime Occurs at Dongtan Apartment

Red Lacquer Sprayed and Garbage Thrown on Front Door

Two Similar Crimes Reported Last Month in Dongtan and Gunpo

Amid the recent arrests of suspects for so-called "revenge-for-hire" crimes—where perpetrators receive money to splash filth or spray lacquer on other people’s homes—a similar incident has occurred once again in Hwaseong.

According to Yonhap News on March 5, at around 8:30 p.m. on March 4, an unidentified individual sprayed red lacquer on the front door of a fourth-floor apartment unit in Dongtan New Town, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and threw food waste before fleeing the scene. The suspect also reportedly scattered about 30 leaflets containing false information related to a resident of the victim’s household throughout the area. The police received a report of the incident at 12:19 a.m. the following day and immediately launched an investigation to track down the suspect.

Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station, Gyeonggi Province

The police believe that the method of the crime is similar to the recent string of revenge-for-hire offenses.

On February 22 and 24, suspects in their twenties were arrested and detained after committing revenge-for-hire attacks in Dongtan, Hwaseong, and Gunpo, respectively. These suspects targeted the victims’ homes by, among other acts, spraying red lacquer on their front doors.

Suspect A is accused of scattering food waste and scribbling with red lacquer paint on the front door of a fifteenth-floor apartment unit in Dongtan New Town, Hwaseong, at around 8:30 p.m. on February 22. He also distributed around 40 leaflets containing defamatory falsehoods about the victim in the surrounding area and smeared glue on the digital door lock.

During police questioning, Suspect A stated, "I learned from news reports that there are so-called 'revenge-for-hire' organizations that take on private retaliation requests for others." He added, "On February 14, I directly searched for a Telegram channel operated by such an organization and decided to participate in the crime." He claimed that he received instructions for the crime, along with the victim’s address and other information, and committed the act in exchange for cryptocurrency worth about 800,000 won.

Suspect A further said, "I saw the news about these revenge-for-hire incidents and realized such things could happen. I did it to make money, and this was my first time."

Police forensically examined Suspect A’s mobile phone and confirmed his chat history with his superior. They found that he completed the crime in about ten minutes, sent a proof photo to his superior from the scene, and then fled. The police have requested cooperation from Telegram to help track down the superior.

Suspect B, who committed a similar offense at a multi-family residence in Gunpo on February 24, used the same methods. Both suspects consistently stated that they received instructions from a superior they met through Telegram and committed the crimes in exchange for cryptocurrency.

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