Go to contents

Con artist caught for extorting money from ethnic Koreans

Con artist caught for extorting money from ethnic Koreans

Posted July. 04, 2014 04:50,   

한국어

A 51-year-old jobless man who is identified with his last name Jin was looking for his targets in the crowded Gangnam subway station on March 12. Jin heard the accent that he was looking for. It was from a 57-year-old and a 50-year-old ethnic Korean woman from China. Jin approached them and showed a police badge on his wallet. He demanded their identification cards, identifying himself as a policeman. Although they were not illegal immigrants, they panicked thinking of Chinese police. Jin threatened that he would deport them unless they pay fine. Each of them gave 500,000 won (495.7 U.S. dollars) each to Jin.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said on Thursday that it imprisoned Jin on charges of impersonating police and stealing a total of 4.7 million won (4,600 dollars) from nine ethnic Koreans from China from June 2012 through June 11, 2014. According to police, Jin looked for his targets based on people’s attire or accent in subway stations in Gangnam district. Jin, who has criminal records of five convictions in the same kind of crime, took advantage of the fact that ethnic Koreans from China do not know Korean law. Jin said in the police investigation that he detached the police badge from a police patrol box in a subway station and put it on his wallet.