Prosecutor's Office Forms 'Multi-Victim Crime Investigation Team' for Voice Phishing and Multi-Level Marketing

[Financial News] The prosecution has formed a dedicated investigation team to swiftly investigate 'multi-victim crimes' that cause large-scale damage to many citizens, such as voice phishing and multi-level marketing.
The Supreme Prosecutor's Office announced on the 10th that it has established a 'Multi-Victim Crime Investigation Team' at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, centered on the Criminal Division and the Drug & Organized Crime Division.
Information & IT Public Certified Specialist, Criminal Division 3 Chief Kim Yong-je (Judicial Research and Training Institute 37th class), is leading the team, which consists of 12 members, including prosecutors (prosecutor researchers) and investigators (accounting expert investigators, etc.).
Initially, the investigation team will be dispatched to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, where multi-victim crime cases are concentrated, for a temporary operation of 3 to 4 months, and will consider expanding operations based on performance. The Central District Prosecutors' Office is investigating about 51% of major multi-victim crime cases with damages exceeding 10 billion won.
The investigation team plans to work with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to investigate cases that require swift and focused investigation among cases with many victims and large damages, and to track down the main culprits to identify the organizations behind them.
Investment frauds using unauthorized deposits, multi-level marketing scams, and illegal leading rooms, which take advantage of the difficult economic situation, are continuously increasing. In fact, unauthorized deposit and multi-level marketing fraud cases increased from 3,071 cases in 2022 to 3,335 cases in 2023, and 3,727 cases in 2024. However, the disposal rate is only at the level of 20 to 30%, leading to prolonged investigations.
In particular, multi-victim crimes often involve organized crimes nationwide over a long period, with investigations occurring at the point of damage expansion, making evidence collection difficult and records extensive, often leading to prolonged investigations.
In response, Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho instructed last month to swiftly and strictly investigate multi-victim crimes to protect victims.
A representative from the Supreme Prosecutor's Office stated, "We will do our best to swiftly investigate multi-victim crimes that harm the public, ensure recovery of damages, and fulfill the prosecution's fundamental role of protecting and caring for the public from crime."

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter