No-Show Fraud Damages Reach 115.5 Billion Won in First Half of This Year...Self-Employed Owners Suffer

Average Damage per Incident Surges by 52% in a Year

Damages in First Half Already 92% of Last Year

Impersonation of Public Institutions and Major Corporations Continues

Park Junghyun: "Government-Wide Preventive Measures Needed"

The damage caused by no-show fraud in the first half of this year reached 115.5 billion won. This amount corresponds to 92% of the total damage reported for the entire previous year. The average damage per case also increased by nearly 52% over the past year, raising concerns that financial losses for small business owners are rapidly growing.

According to data submitted by Park Jeonghyun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, and received from the National Police Agency, there were 3,936 cases of no-show fraud reported from January to June this year. This represents 60.4% of last year’s total of 6,515 cases. The total amount of damage was 115.5 billion won, accounting for 91.7% of last year’s total of 125.9 billion won.

Organization members involved in the 'No-Show Fraud' repatriated to Korea. The Asia Business Daily DB

The pace of increase in the scale of damage far outpaced the growth in the number of cases. The average monthly loss last year was 10.49 billion won, but in the first half of this year it surged by 83.5% to 19.25 billion won. The average financial loss per case also rose by 51.8%, from 19.32 million won last year to 29.34 million won in the first half of this year.

No-show fraud is evolving from simple reservation defaults to schemes where scammers impersonate public institutions or large companies to induce fraudulent purchases. As organizations based overseas have also emerged, the scale of damage is increasing further.

In fact, the Yeonsu Police Station in Incheon recently apprehended and repatriated seven individuals who, using Vietnam as their base, impersonated public agencies and military units to induce proxy purchases of goods. The amount they defrauded from their 631 victims totaled 24.3 billion won.

The police have stepped up crackdowns, arresting as many as 600 people in the first half of this year alone. However, with remote crimes involving phone calls, messengers, and forged IDs on the rise—and overseas criminal organizations increasingly participating—criticism has arisen that after-the-fact arrests alone are not enough to prevent further damages.

Assemblyman Park stated, "No-show fraud is no longer just missed reservations but has evolved into a form of organized impersonation and fraud targeting small business owners and worsening their losses. In addition to strong enforcement, the government should establish comprehensive preventive measures spanning finance and telecommunications sectors."

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