Three Gangsters Arrested for Loan Sharking Targeting University Students

Three gangsters who threatened and demanded excessive interest from a university student after lending them money were arrested by the police.

It was revealed that they even went as far as to locate the victim's friend's workplace to force repayment when the victim was unable to pay back the money, resulting in secondary damage.

According to the police, at the end of last year, A, a gangster in his 20s, and his accomplices lent 1 million won to a victim, B, also in his 20s, while demanding repayment of 1.6 million won within five days. This amounts to an illegal high interest rate of 4,380% when converted to an annual rate.

When B could only repay the principal due to financial difficulties, they demanded an additional 2 million won, citing failure to fulfill the agreement. Furthermore, they attempted to extract money violently by holding the victim hostage in a vehicle for 40 minutes and threatening him with a weapon.

Serious Infiltration of Gangsters into Illegal Private Lending

In particular, they went to the convenience store where the victim's friend worked and pressured him to pay off the debt.

Surveillance footage captured large men revealing their arm tattoos in the convenience store to instill fear. They also forcibly seized the victim’s mobile phone to check the balance, showcasing an organized crime method.

At the beginning of this year, the police received a report and arrested A and his two accomplices, two of whom were detained. All of them were confirmed to be gangsters from the Daejeon area.

Team leader Kim Joo-hwan of the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency explained, "They obtain contact information of the victim’s family or acquaintances during the loan process and use it to induce secondary and tertiary damage if a default occurs."

According to police statistics, 98 gangsters in their 20s were arrested in Chungbuk alone over the past three years. The police urged the public to report immediately in case of any incidents, stating that young gangsters are increasingly entering the illegal private lending market and conducting financial extortion crimes targeting ordinary citizens.

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