"Was That Liquor Really Genuine That Day?" Counterfeit Liquor Worth 3.5 Billion Won Sold in Busan's Seomyeon Area

[Financial News] A criminal organization has been caught by police after making counterfeit liquor by mixing black tea into leftover alcohol at entertainment bars in central Busan, pocketing billions of won, and subjecting employees to brutal abuse.
According to police on the 9th, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's Major Crimes Investigation Unit indicted the alleged ringleader, identified by his surname initial A and in his 30s, while in custody on charges including organizing a criminal group, fraud, and evading property overseas. It also referred 60 other members to prosecutors without detention.
A and his associates are suspected of operating five entertainment bars in Seomyeon, Busanjin District, Busan, from April 2022 to September 2024, and manufacturing and selling counterfeit liquor by mixing black tea and other substances into liquor left unfinished by customers. When customers lost consciousness, they allegedly used mobile-phone patterns they had identified in advance or charged their cards for heavily inflated drink bills. More than 1,000 customers are believed to have been victimized during the period, and sales of the counterfeit liquor alone amounted to 3.5 billion won.
A police investigation found that A recruited a member of an organized-crime gang as a manager-level supervisor and then gathered acquaintances to form a criminal organization. Under three supervisors, the group meticulously divided roles among managers, hostesses, waiters, touts, and female attendants to run the establishments.
The organization also did not hesitate to subject its employees to brutal abuse. When waiters or touts failed to meet their daily quotas or violated the rules, the supervisors allegedly smashed their fingers with hammers or locked them in saunas. They also forced employees into the winter sea or tubs of ice water and made them run at gyms while carrying weight plates, continuing bizarre acts of sadistic abuse.
The full extent of the crimes came to light after six employees, unable to endure the abuse any longer, reported the organization to police. The employees were also at risk of being locked inside a vehicle after A discovered the report through an unannounced inspection of their mobile phones, but they were safely rescued after police responded swiftly.
Immediately after arresting A, police issued International Criminal Police Organization red notices for a co-ringleader who had fled overseas and a supervisor formerly affiliated with an organized-crime gang. Police also obtained a court order to preserve 200 million won in alleged flight funds before indictment and notified the National Tax Service (NTS) about the five entertainment bars used as crime scenes.
[email protected] Jung Ji-woo Reporter