A group of private detective agency operators who extorted more than 100 million won from an illegal moneylender by exploiting his own criminal activities has been arrested by police.
The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that it had apprehended five people, including a detective agency operator and a Telegram channel administrator, on charges of extortion and violations of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act. Four of them were referred to prosecutors under detention. The suspects are accused of extorting a total of 110 million won from an illegal moneylender, identified as P, between November 2024 and January of last year.
The case originated from an internal dispute over illegal lending information. In October 2024, a former employee of the private lending firm, identified as A, took out a USB drive containing the customer list without authorization and used it to threaten the firm's owner, P. Seeking to retrieve the leaked information, P hired a detective agency operator, identified as B, to handle the matter. However, instead of recovering the data, B chose to collude with A. Exploiting the fact that P's business itself was illegal, they threatened to disseminate related information on Telegram and demanded a large sum of money.
Police investigations revealed that the victim, P, had brokered loans worth approximately 48 billion won ($35 million) to some 4,000 people at the time and collected 5.1 billion won in fees. He was detained separately on those charges. In effect, one offender was caught and extorted by another. During the process, the group also exerted psychological pressure by exposing photos of P himself, as well as his family and employees, on Telegram.
C, the Telegram channel operator who was also detained, is believed to have carried out other organized crimes beyond this case. C is accused of posting fabricated videos synthesized with images of women's bodies to promote the channel. Police also suspect that he laundered approximately 700 million won in proceeds from a secondhand-transaction fraud ring into virtual assets, collecting an 8 percent commission.
"When illegal requests are made to detective agencies that lack clear official licensing or regulatory oversight, problems such as reverse threats and monetary demands arise," a police official said. "People should use legitimate means within the system, such as reporting to investigative authorities."
