From Gang Fights to Phishing Scams... Dongdaemun Gang Members Referred to Prosecution in Custody

Charges of Forming and Operating a Criminal Organization under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts
Mandatory Chinese Character Tattoos on the Chest
Group Brawls Involving 50 Members
Training New Members through Communal Living
Participation in Phishing Scams

Members of the Dongdaemun gang and allied organizations, which have been active in central Seoul, have been referred to the prosecution en masse. Under the pretext of carrying on the legacy of local crime syndicates that emerged after Korea’s liberation, they engaged in various criminal acts such as extorting street vendors, intervening in redevelopment projects, and participating in phishing scams and fraudulent investment chatrooms.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Crime Investigation Unit announced on July 23 that it had detained and referred 13 members of the Dongdaemun gang, including A, a leader in his 30s, on charges of forming and participating in a criminal organization under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts. Eight additional members were referred without detention. Similarly, one member of the allied Sangye faction was detained and referred, while 10 others were referred without detention on the same charges.

Commemorative photo taken by members of the Dongdaemun faction at the unity event in August 2021 in Chuncheon City, Gangwon Province. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

According to the police, from 2017 until February this year, A and others operated as members of the Dongdaemun gang, recruiting 16 new members from local middle and high school delinquent groups and participating in violent acts.

In December 2020, A and other members engaged in a large-scale fight with a rival gang in Ingye-dong, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. In February of this year, after an argument at a restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, they called in allied gang members, leading to a violent standoff involving around 50 people. In September 2023, they assaulted members of a rival organization during a group dinner in Nonhyeon-dong.

The police investigation revealed that A and others promoted the group by claiming, “We are a legitimate organization that descends from Chairman Lee Jung-jae, dating back to the post-liberation era,” to attract new recruits. Afterwards, at training accommodations around Seoul and Incheon, they educated newcomers on obedience to senior members, loyalty to the gang, and methods for evading investigations. During organizational events, they acted as what is known as a “byungpung” (backdrop) to display their strength, and would immediately assemble as a rapid response unit whenever conflicts with rival groups occurred.

Items seized by the police from a Dongdaemunpa gang member. Baseball bats, telescopic batons, knuckles, etc. were used in violent acts. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

A's group forced members to get Chinese character tattoos representing the organization’s name on the center of their chests. Violating gang rules resulted in severe punishment, such as junior members being beaten so badly by superiors that they lost molars, maintaining a strict hierarchy. After a large-scale crackdown on southwestern Seoul gangs last year, members also shut down their accommodations to avoid police investigations.

The police have also found evidence that the Dongdaemun gang and others have recently been involved in underground economic crimes such as managing voice phishing rings, operating investment chatrooms recommending stock picks, and dealing in personal information. Investigations are ongoing, and police have booked eight members of the Itaewon and Eagles gangs without detention for organization-related charges. For two Dongdaemun gang members currently overseas, the police have secured arrest warrants and plan to cooperate with international authorities to apprehend them.

The police explained that through this investigation, they confirmed the Dongdaemun gang is a criminal organization that was formed in 1996 by local hoodlums claiming to be successors of “Lee Jung-jae’s Dongdaemun Squad.” The gang has been continuously involved in acts of street vendor extortion and manipulation of redevelopment project rights, maintaining its organization to this day. A police official stated, “We will concentrate our investigative resources to strictly respond not only to crimes committed by individual members of these violent organizations but also to those carried out through allied groups.”

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