Foreigners tried for voice phishing crimes surge 40-fold in 2 years

The number of foreigners tried in connection with voice phishing and other telecommunications fraud crimes has surged 40-fold over the past two years, data show, even as the number of foreigners prosecuted for conventional fraud and extortion fell by more than half over the same period — a shift analysts say signals the emergence of a new pattern of foreign-national crime. Calls are growing for authorities to strengthen oversight of foreign suspects across investigation, trial and immigration screening stages.

According to first-instance criminal trial data submitted to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee by the Supreme Court, 546 foreigners stood trial in the first half of this year on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud and Refund for Such Loss — commonly known as the telecommunications fraud victims compensation act.

The figure represents a roughly 40-fold increase in just two years. The number of foreigners tried under the law rose from 24 in 2023 to 369 in 2024 — about a 15-fold jump — before nearly tripling to 976 last year. With 546 cases already recorded in the first half of this year alone, there are concerns the annual total could exceed 1,000 for the first time in history by year's end.

Sentencing data show custodial sentences — imprisonment or detention — were the most common outcome. Of the 546 foreigners tried under the telecommunications fraud law this year, 485, or 88.8 percent, received custodial sentences. Of those, 373 received immediate prison terms and 112 received suspended sentences. The remaining cases included two fines, 10 acquittals, one exemption or dismissal, and 48 case transfers or other dispositions.

Of the 976 foreigners tried at the first-instance level last year under the same law, 934, or 95.6 percent, received custodial sentences, with 225 of those suspended. One person received a fine, 18 were acquitted, one case was dismissed or exempted, and 18 cases were transferred or otherwise disposed of.

The overall number of foreigners brought to criminal trial on other charges also rose during the same period, edging up from 5,747 in 2023 to 5,946 the following year before climbing to 6,377 last year. In the first half of this year, 3,111 foreigners stood trial on criminal charges at the first-instance level.

By contrast, foreigners tried for fraud and extortion plunged over the same two-year span — from 1,054 in 2023 to 900 in 2024 to 477 last year, falling to fewer than half the 2023 figure. Sex crime cases involving foreigners, including rape and indecent assault, also declined, dropping from 216 in 2023 to 159 in 2024 to 142 last year.

Lee Sung-yoon, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said the data demand urgent scrutiny. "The number of foreign defendants in telecommunications financial fraud cases has increased more than 40-fold in just two years. We need to thoroughly examine whether there are any blind spots in the pathways through which people become involved in these crimes," Lee said. "In particular, we need to take a close look at whether relevant information is being properly shared and coordinated across the investigation, trial and immigration stages."