Police nab 67 in voice-phishing ring led by Chinese national who posed as 'Prosecutor Kim Min-su'

Police have arrested dozens of suspects, including the ringleader of an overseas criminal organization that impersonated prosecutors and financial regulators to steal billions of won from victims.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's wide-area crime investigation unit said Thursday it had arrested 67 people — including the ringleader, a Chinese national in his 30s identified only as A — on charges including violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud. Seventeen of those arrested have been detained.

Police said A was the ringleader of the organization behind a voice-phishing scheme that drove a job-seeking woman in her 20s to her death several years ago, with gang members posing as "Prosecutor Kim Min-su" of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.

"There was no particular reason for choosing the alias Kim Min-su," a police official said. "A admitted to some involvement in the crimes but denied being the ringleader, showing little sense of remorse."

A and his associates are accused of operating call center offices in China and other overseas locations from August 2015 to July 2021, impersonating prosecutors and Financial Supervisory Service officials to steal 5 billion won ($3.65 million).

The group recruited members through social media advertisements promising high-paying part-time work, then divided them into roles including call center agents, recruiters and cash collectors.

They deceived victims by claiming that bank accounts opened in the victims' names had been used in crimes and that the money needed to be moved, or by offering to refinance their loans at lower interest rates.

In the process, they presented forged civil servant identification cards and fabricated official documents describing fictitious cases.

Police have requested Interpol red notices and forced repatriation for 33 accomplices believed to be hiding abroad.

On Jan. 20, 2020, members of A's organization impersonated "Prosecutor Kim Min-su of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office" and told a woman in her 20s who was preparing for job applications that she was implicated in a large-scale financial fraud and needed to withdraw money from her account. They stole 4.2 million won from her.

A few days later, the victim died by suicide.

If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, dial the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 109, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please request a translator for English-language services.