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By Ko Dong-hwan
Criminal rings are recruiting Korean-Chinese teenagers.
On Mar. 23, Seoul Seodaemun police received a report from a man in his 80s who had a request from a stranger through voice phishing for 40 million won ($34,000). Police, after a stakeout at Ahyeon subway station in eastern Seoul, arrested two suspects ― a teenage boy and a girl with allegedly fake paper bank accounts they were going to use to withdraw the money.
Police later found out the children, who did not speak Korean, were third-generation Korean-Chinese whose parents came to Korea as labor workers. The girl, identified as Lee, 19, and the boy, Park, 17, met at a PC cafe in Chinatown in Daerim-dong, Seoul, and received orders from a criminal-ring boss in China.
Police extended the investigation and discovered the ringleader may have more Korean-Chinese children here under control.
"Korean-Chinese kids from Seoul and the nearby cities of Bucheon and Ansan were gathering at the PC cafe as their hideout to plan or partake in criminal acts," a police official told the Hankook Ilbo. "There, they checked online community sites for Korean-Chinese living in Korea and found ads looking for part-timers that turned out to be a hook arranged by criminal rings."
Many Korean-Chinese children who come to Korea with their parents cannot assimilate because of cultural barriers like language. Dropping out of school, they often visit PC cafes and through online channels are attracted by criminal interests.
Police said Monday Lee and Park had been charged with violating e-commerce laws.
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