Police launch special crackdown on crimes disrupting consumer prices, including housing price collusion

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[Financial News] Police will launch a special crackdown on various illegal activities that disrupt consumer prices, including ticket scalping and collusion to raise housing prices.
The National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) announced on the 2nd that it will begin an extensive eight-month special crackdown on crimes disrupting consumer prices from the 3rd through October 31.
The government has launched the Ministerial Task Force on Special Management of Consumer Prices, led by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and is making an all-out effort to restore market order and stabilize prices felt by ordinary citizens.
As part of this pan-government initiative, the police will concentrate investigative resources over the next eight months. The crackdown will target a wide range of offenses, including hoarding and violations of emergency supply adjustment measures that undermine price stability; improper third-party involvement in policy funds; ticket scalping; illegal rebate practices in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors; abusive use of tariff quotas; housing price collusion; fraudulent receipt of state subsidies; unfair trade practices; and other violations such as breaches of the Private Teaching Institutes Act and the Door-to-Door Sales Act, evasion of rent increase limits, and unlawful acquisition of excessive management fees.
The KNPA will establish a Consumer Price Disruption Crime Eradication Task Force, headed by the director of the investigation bureau, to gather intelligence through its own information networks and cooperation with relevant ministries. It also plans to launch swift investigations led by investigative units at city and provincial government offices and intelligence teams at local police stations, while thoroughly tracing and recovering criminal proceeds.
Commissioner of the National Office of Investigation Park Seong-ju said, "Hoarding, violations of emergency supply adjustment measures, and ticket scalping are vicious crimes that undermine price stability and worsen the economic reality felt by ordinary people," adding, "We will concentrate all of the police's investigative capabilities to conduct a strong crackdown on crimes that disrupt consumer prices and thereby contribute to price stability."
He continued, "Last July, we significantly raised the maximum reward for reports to 500 million won," and urged, "We ask for active reports and tips from the public."
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter