"Dear Brother, Free of Charge" The Hidden 'Setup Hell' in Overseas Golf Trips

[Financial News] It was belatedly revealed that a businessman who was offered an overseas golf trip was caught in a 'setup' involving underage prostitution in Thailand and extorted of hundreds of millions of won. Behind the elaborate play and extortion that made the victim look like a criminal was an organization that planned the crime overseas and siphoned money back to Korea.
Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency's Drug Crime Investigation Unit announced on the 7th that they had arrested four people, including the organization's head Mr. A (in his 60s), on charges of extortion and violation of the Location Information Act, and booked one person without detention. They are also working with local police to extradite one manager who coordinated the crime overseas.
According to the police, this organization set a trap for businessman Mr. B, who went on a golf trip to Thailand in December 2022. After inducing him to engage in underage prostitution, they staged a play as if he was caught by investigative agencies and extorted 240 million won, promising to settle the case.
The crime was meticulously planned in advance. Mr. A approached Mr. B more than a month before the crime, building a rapport at golf meetings and calling him "brother" to close the relationship. He even secretly attached a GPS tracker to Mr. B's car to continue contact under the guise of coincidence, narrowing the psychological distance.
During this time, Mr. A handed over a plane ticket, saying, "I recently made a hole-in-one and got a free overseas golf ticket," and Mr. B believed him and accompanied him. However, during the local schedule, Mr. A arranged underage prostitution and, in collusion with the manager, staged an arrest by actual investigative agencies.
Terrified, Mr. B was deceived by the words "money is needed to settle the investigation" and transferred more than 200 million won before he could be released.
This case came to light when Mr. B heard news in September 2023 that a criminal group using similar methods was caught in Cambodia and confided in those around him. The police, who obtained intelligence, conducted an investigation and arrested Mr. A's group, who were sent to the prosecution in November last year. Mr. A and his accomplices are currently appealing after being sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison in the first trial.
During the investigation, the police also confirmed that Mr. A's organization committed gambling fraud at overseas casinos, deceiving other wealthy individuals and extorting hundreds of millions of won.
From October 2023 to April this year, Mr. A and others are accused of deceiving five businessmen, including Mr. C, in Cambodia, and embezzling about 950 million won. They proposed overseas golf trips to those they met at the golf practice range, took them to Cambodia, and even mobilized casino officials to deliberately incur gambling debts.
In fact, Mr. C was saddled with a debt of 700,000 dollars (about 900 million won) and was deceived by the words "a companion is detained due to gambling debt," transferring 680 million won. Other victims were also found to have lost billions of won.
This case was also sent to the prosecution last June on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
The police judged Mr. A's group's method as "a typical setup crime." They framed victims without criminal intent as criminals and extorted money by promising to settle the investigation.
A police official said, "Victims suffered in silence, fearing punishment for prostitution or gambling charges," and urged, "Demanding money under the pretext of criminal punishment is a clear crime, so never comply and report immediately."


jjw@fnnews.com Jeong Ji-woo Reporter