116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS

TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND THE
COUNTERMEASURES IN KOREA
Yong Kwan Park *I. CHARACTERISTICS ANDHISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIMESIN KOREA
Korea has a unique history concerningorganized crime. As mordernization of
Korea began in 1800s, Korea’s population
increased dramatically and concentrated tourban cities. On the other hand, there were
not enough job opportunities for theincreasing number of young people. Young
men who had the energy to work, but who
could not find jobs, banded together andidled about city streets. They worked atplaces like bars, gambling houses andconstruction sites, and some of themearned easy money by getting involved insmall but lucrative businesses. Some
called them ‘Keondal’, it mens scamps or
libertine. The terms Keondal scamp andlibertine did not have only bad meanings.
Actually, they were not considered as
criminals or criminal groups. They had
conflicts over some lucrative businesses,
but did not cause major harm or damage
to ordinary citizens. They honored loyalty
and faithfulness, and they would
sometimes help the weak and the poor.
Even now, the lives of scamps are an
attractive source of movies, which picture
them as heroic or romantic. Young men
who are not satisfied with their jobs are
admiring the lives of scamps. Movies andTV dramas featuring the lives of scamps
are sometimes very popular with viewers.
Many people were surprised when in a
recent survey, some teenagers said that
* Director, 1st Prosecution Division, Prosecution
Bureau, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Korea

they wish to be scamps or libertines when
they grow up. Similarly, in Japan,
organizations like the Yakuza wereconsidered by some as groups of people whoknow what loyalty really is.
Korean scamps did not use weapons tofight. They used their bodies, their hands,
feet and heads. Naturally, their fights
rarely resulted in deaths or severe injuries.
This owes much to the Korean tradition inwhich civilians were prohibited fromarming themselves. In today’s Korea, arms
such as guns and swords are still strictly
restricted and controlled. Carrying a gun
or a long knife or sword constitutes anoffense in itself.
But, as Korea became moreindustrialized and urbanized, Korean
scamps began to change as well. In the
1960’s when Korea was undergoingmodernization processes, organized crimegroups emerged as an influential power inentertainment districts. They soon became
associated with some politicians. They
guarded the politicians from danger, andinterrupted the political rallies ofcompeting politicians by using violence.
These groups were the so-called politicalgangs or henchmen.
The military regime which wasestablished in 1960 accused these crimegroups as being mainly responsible for thesocial disorder. The military governmentarrested 13,000 members of such crimegroups.
Korean criminal groups, up until thispoint, were merely groups of scamps who

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
did not use arms. Moreover, the Korean
military government conducted raids onthese crime groups, pointing them out as asocial evil. As the result of such raids, thecrime groups almost vanished in thisperiod.
Things began to change in the 1970’s,
as crime groups armed with Japanese
knives and iron bars dominated the busy
streets of the Myongdong area in downtown
Seoul. They were no longer the romantic
libertines of old times, but were vicious
crime groups, formed with the aim ofobtaining illegal profits by using violence.
It is from this point that Korean crimegroups were organized in the form offamilies. Families had fights with eachother, which often involved cruel killings
and murders. As time went on, thesefamilies became bigger, and developed intolarge businesses.
In the 1980’s, when Korea madeeconomic progress and became more open
to foreign countries, organized crimegroups developed into nationwide
organizations, and some of them evenextended their activities to foreigncountries, by associating with crime groups
in Japan and the United States. These
crime groups in Japan and the US were
mostly groups formed by ethnic Koreansliving in those countries.
On October 13, 1990, the Korean
government declared “the war against
crime”, and initiated comprehensive raids
on various crimes, including organizedcrimes. The arrested members of crimegroups were punished for forming or
joining criminal organizations. At thistime, the Korean government started a newsupervision programme for professional
criminals. Under this programme,
criminals were subjected to care andcustody for on additional seven to ten years

62

at rehabilitation facilities, after serving theimposed sentence of imprisonment. As theresult of the raids, most of the leaders ofthe major families were arrested and someof them fled to foreign countries.
In the early 1990’s, in Korea, habitual
pickpockets were subjected to harshpunishment, and were made to serve
additional terms of care and custody after
finishing their sentence in prison. To evadesuch harsh punishment, they fled to nearby
Japan, and continued to commit crimes
there.
In 1993, I dealt with mutual legal
assistance affairs while I worked at the
Korean Embassy in Tokyo. At that time,
Korean pickpockets traveling to Japan tocommit crimes became a hot issue. At theassistance of the International Division of
the Japanese Justice Ministry, I obtained
investigative materials for the Korean
pickpockets arrested in Tokyo and otherJapanese cities, and forwarded them to
Korean prosecutorial authorities (100 such
persons were arrested in Japan.) Koreanprosecutors started investigations based on
the provided materials, and arrested andpunished those pickpockets in Korea
according to Korean criminal law (theKorean Criminal Code provides that if aperson has already been punished in aforeign country for a crime, that person canbe also punished for that crime in Korea
by Korean law. In such cases, thepunishment in Korea may be mitigated or
remitted. The specific article for thisprovision is Article 7 of the Korean
Criminal Code). Korean pickpockets
traveling to Japan began to realize thateven if they are not arrested in Japan, they
could be arrested in Korea when they goback home, and would be punished severely
under Korean law. Accordingly, Korean
pickpockets vanished from Japanesestreets.

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
II. RECENT TRENDS IN KOREAN
ORGANIZED CRIME
A. Overview
Security and order is fairly wellmaintained on the streets of Korea. You
can walk the Korean streets at night witha sense of safety. Korea’s traditional policy
strictly prohibited civilians from carrying
guns, swords, gunpowder, gas jet guns andbows and arrows. To possess guns or otherweapons for the purpose of hunting or forother sports, it is necessary to obtain police
authorization. For this reason, we haverarely seen such incidents in Korea where
criminals fire at people on the streets, or
criminal groups fight with each other withguns and knives.
The Korean prosecutorial authorit not
only initiates investigations on its own, butalso supervises investigations initiated by
the police. The prosecutors have exclusive
authority to investigate and prosecute allkinds of offenses. To efficiently deal withorganized crime, the Supreme Prosecutor’s
Office established the Violent Crime
Department within itself and within major
prosecutor’s offices, thereby establishing anationwide chain for the investigation oforganized crime.
The continual and strenuous efforts of
the Korean prosecutors to combat
organized crime has made substantial
achievements. The Violent Crime
Department at the Supreme Prosecutor’s
Office has collected comprehensive
information about most criminalorganizations in Korea, and has grasped
the overall picture of such criminalorganizations.
T h e Vi o l e n t C r i m e D e p a r t m e n t
evaluates whether the prosecutorial
authority has been doing a good job insuppressing organized crimes, with arelatively small number of officials (there

are about 114 prosecutors in Korea who are
entirely responsible for investigating
violent crimes).
However, the situation took a bad turnin the late 1990’s. The former bosses andleading members of crime groups who had
been arrested during “the war against
crime”, completed serving their sentences
and were released from prison. Recently,
criminal families of the past have beenreestablished and many new ones haveemerged in major cities. Moreover, themembers of the new criminal families aremainly composed of teenagers.
As of January 2000, the prosecutor’s
offices have estimated that there are 11,500
members in 404 families or groups. We
keep special surveillance on 647 membersin 117 families or groups. According to theanalysis of the prosecutor’s offices, during
the period between 1998 and 1999, theaverage number of members in one
criminal organization was 35. The numberof members of each criminal organization
ranged from the minimum of 10 members
and the maximum of 88.
B. Transnational Organized Crime
in KoreaIn the 1990’s, the cold war came to an
end and Korea became more open andinternationalized. With the economic
growth and globalization trend, organizedcrimes in Korea are becoming larger inscale and wider in the field of operation.
In the past, groups were primarily involvedin violent crimes such as blackmailing bars
and stores in entertainment districts, using
violence and threat. Recently, they are
engaging in any business, if it is profitable,
regardless of whether it is legal or illegal.
Businesses that are usually operated bycriminal organizations are: drugtrafficking, prostitution, gambling,
smuggling of persons, entertainment

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
businesses, underground financial
businesses like private loan businesses andcredit card discounts, construction
contracts, real estate dealings, fraud suchas counterfeiting credit cards, waste
disposal, smuggling, insurance fraud, andthe export of used cars. These arebusinesses that make big money very
easily.
Criminal organizations accumulate
funds through these businesses and invest
these funds into lawful businesses.
Eventually, it becomes more and moredifficult to distinguish between thebusinesses of criminal organizations andbusinesses operated by other legitimate
entities.
Members of criminalorganizations are transforming intobusinessmen with smart appearance andability.
As the passage of persons and trade with
China and Russia has become freer,
criminal organizations are engaged in theexport of labor and the smuggling of
persons. In addition, the export of usedcars to these countries is increasing. Car
theft is dramatically increasing in Korea
and it is believed that a great number ofstolen cars are being exported to foreigncountries by criminal organizations. In
July of this year, a criminal organization
was prosecuted for stealing new and
expensive vehicles and dump trucks, andexporting these stolen vehicles to China,
Russia and South East Asia. In August,
11 organized crime members were arrested
for stealing about 700 motocycles whichwere exported to South East Asia.
Meanwhile, Russian Mafia, Chinese
Triads and Japanese Yakuza are trying toextend their businesses in Korea, taking
advantage of the reform and liberalization
policy in Russia and China. There are some
reported cases where those foreignorganizations are involved in drug

64

trafficking in connection with Koreancriminal organizations.
Japanese Yakuza, Thai Kunsa andColombian drug cartels are trading large
portions of drugs such as
methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, etc(with Korean criminal organizations). Oneof the facts that we should take notice of isthat a triangle of methamphetamine
manufacture and sales has been
established in this part of the world.
Korean manufacturers are making large
quantities of methamphetamine in Taiwan,
China and South East Asia, with the funds
provided by Japanese criminalorganizations. They then bring the
products into Japan and Korea for sale.
Also, there are suspicions thatmethamphetamine produced in North
Korea is being brought into Japan and
Korea through China or sea routes.
C. Cases in Korea
1. Crime Related to Drugs
Before the 1990’s, most drugs producedin Korea were smuggled into othercountries such as Japan or sometimes theUS, due to the severe punishments andsocial stigma attached to drug use in Korea.
Recently, however, there has been an
increasing consumption of drugs in Korea.
For instance, the number of drug users
increased by 26.8% from 8,350 in 1998 to
10,589 in 1999.
Provoked by the government’s strong
control over drug production and the riseof drug production costs, Korean criminalorganizations have moved drug factories toother countries, for instance, Taiwan and
China. Korean criminal organizations
have kept increasing their influence on
drug businesses in Asia. However Korea
is now a drug transit country to Japan andother countries. Some drug crime cases
related to transnational criminal

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
organizations which were successfullyprosecuted by Korean prosecutors are:(i)
In November 1994, 300 kilogramsof the raw material ofmethamphetamine - hydrochloric
ephedrine - were smuggled out ofChina into Korea by a Korean gangmember. The raw material was
brought into Pusan, Korea througha sea route.
(ii) In July 1995, the United States
drug control agency informed the
Korean prosecutor ’s office that
6,000 kilograms of hashish
produced in Uganda was shipped
and being delivered to the seaportof Pusan, Korea, via Singapore andTaiwan. All of the shipped hashish
was confiscated.
(iii) In October 1995, the head memberof a Japanese organization
contracted the manufacture of 6
kilograms of methamphetaminewith a Korean manufacturer who
was staying in China. Both ofthem were arrested in Korea.
(iv) In May 1997, members of the Thai
drug organization “Kunsa”
smuggled 500 grams of heroin into
Korea and attempted to sell it.
(v) In October 1998, a housekeeper
working at a foreign embassy in
Korea was arrested for smuggling
60 kilograms of heroin from thePhilippines into Korea andforwarding it to the United States.
(vi) In April 1999, a Korean criminalorganization (Shinsangsapa) and aJapanese organization (Sumiyosikumi) bought 100 kilograms of
methamphetamine from North
Korea and smuggled it into Japan.
(vii) In September 1999, a member of a
Colombian drug cartel and abusinessman of a Korean trading
company smuggled 22 tons ofpotassium permanganate, rawmaterial of cocaine, into Colombia.

2. Trafficking in Human Beings
Russian and Korean-Chinese criminalorganizations are involved in trafficking
women and migrant workers. The Russian
Mafia provides job opportunities asentertainers to young Russian women andassists them in obtaining Korean tourist
visas. In this process, the Russian Mafia
receives commissions from the applicants.
The women who apply are sent to Korea towork in entertainment businesses as
dancers or bar maids (so-called“hostesses”). They usually end up as
prostitutes.
If we look at their former occupations,
1,133 had been students, 430 had beenclerks and 1,703 had been unemployed.
Twenty-nine percent were in their twenties
or thirties. Despite the fact that there are
not enough employment opportunities foryoung foreign women in Korea, many
young Russian females came to Korea lastyear. From this fact, we can speculate thatmany of them have illegal jobs in Korea
and consequently involve themselves inprostitution. In December 1999, theRussian “Sakhalin” Mafia supplied 60
Russian prostitutes to some undergroundprostitution businesses in Korea.
Regarding labor migrations, KoreanChinese criminal organizations are
involved in illegal job placements in Korea.
According to research on migrant workers
in Korea, there were 139,480 illegal
residents in 1997. Among them, 17,368
were either Chinese or Korean-Chinese
workers. In order to procure jobs in Korea,
they spend, on average, their annual
income as commissions to labor-exporting
agencies in China. The Korean law
enforcement authorities presume thatsome of those labor-exporting agencies aremanaged by Korean-Chinese criminalorganizations.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
3. Money laundering
Money laundering by transnational
criminal organizations is not widespreadin Korea. There are about eight to ninemoney laundering cases every year.
According to research on the annual
estimate of the money laundered, theminimum is US $450 million, and the
maximum is US $1.4 billion. Most money
laundering cases in Korea were committed
by self-employed business owners and/or
business managers. Only a few money
laundering cases were associated withtransnational organizations, there include:
(i)

(ii)

In September 1995, a Koreancriminal organization establisheda shell company dealing withjewelry and gold. Through thisc o m p a n y, t h e o r g a n i z a t i o nsmuggled 2.6 tons of gold into
Korea and laundered US $7.9
million by using bank accounts inborrowed names. The organization
sent the money to Hong Kong.
In December 1998, a Colombian
and an Italian conspired to launder
US $30 million of drug money andtransferred the money to the bankaccount of a Korean shell company
which was connected with a
Korean criminal organization.

4. Other Cases Related toTransnational Criminal
Organizations(i)
In September 1995, a member of
the Chinese-Americanorganization “Waching”, based in
Los Angeles, was hired by a Koreancriminal organization to murder amember of another criminalorganization in Seoul.
(ii) In February 1996, members of theHong Kong Triads manufactured
and distributed illegal
pornographic and music CDs in
Korea.

66(iii) In December 1996, some Korean
organized criminals and a memberof a Japanese organization
attempted to withdraw cash in
Seoul by using fake credit cards
produced by American gangmembers.
(iv) In September 1999, the Russiancriminal organization“Shatendoveskaya” was hired tosolve a loan business between
Russian and Korean international
trade businessmen in Korea.
III. COUNTERMEASURES BY THE
GOVERNMENT
The measures of Korean government tocombat organized crime can be classified
into two types: short-term strategies andlong-term strategies. The short-term
strategy is similar to “the war against
crime” conducted by the Korean
government in the past. It aims at isolating
criminal organizations from society
through investigation and prosecution.
This is analogous to a surgeon’s operation,
which cuts out the affected part. Regarding
the long-term strategy, measures to deal
with delinquent juveniles (who are thehuman resources of criminalorganizations), Korean laws criminalizingorganized crime, and the Koreang o v e r n m e n t ’s e f f o r t t o s t r e n g t h e n
cooperation with foreign countries incombating organized crime are explained
below.
A. Delinquent Juveniles: Potential
Members of Criminal
Organizations
The number of delinquent juveniles(below age 20) in Korea is approximately
100,000 each year. This number does notinclude trivial violations of traffic
regulations. Among them, about 50,000 are
charged with infliction of bodily injury,
assault or extortion, and about 40,000 are

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
charged with theft, fraud and handling ofstolen property. Moreover, as many as
4,000 juveniles are charged with murder,
robbery, rape and arson each year.
Table 1Juvenile Delinquency in Korea(1998)
Violence (assault, infliction of
bodily injury, extortion, etc.)
Violent crimes (murder,
robbery, rape, arson)
Theft
Property crimes (handling ofstolen property, fraud, embezzlement, breach of trust)
Violation of special criminal
laws (Violation of the Road
Traffic Act, the Noxious
Chemical Substance Control
Act, etc.)* Among them, violations of
the Road Traffic Act are
33,644
OthersTotal

50,987
4,355
37,981
4,814

48,946iii)

Education and rehabilitation ofdelinquent juveniles.

As for the effort to deter juvenile
delinquency, there is the Initiative for theCampaign of Crime Free and Safe Schools,
which was started under the leadership of
the prosecutor’s offices in 1991. This
campaign is now headed by citizens, withthe support of the prosecutor’s offices.
The Juvenile Delinquency Departmentin the Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office is
responsible for the enforcement activities
against juvenile delinquency. The
Department, composed of 7 prosecutors,
conducts investigation of crimes related tojuveniles, or supervises such investigations
conducted by the police. In each local
prosecutor’s office there is a prosecutor
entirely responsible for juvenile
delinquency.

Most juveniles in Korea are enrolled inschool. The number of students fromelementary school to college is about 6.7
million. Some of them, who quit school forcommitting delinquency, form their owngroups, and commit crimes like assault,
extortion, theft, etc. They are growing into
potential members of criminalorganizations. These teenage criminals are
more cruel and dangerous than theirpredecessors.

The education and rehabilitation ofdelinquent juveniles is making remarkableachievement as the education programs injuvenile prisons and reformatory schools
have been changed significantly. All
reformatory schools for delinquentjuveniles have been renamed as middle
schools or high schools. If a person finishes
all courses at such reformatory schools, it
is regarded as the same as graduating froma regular school. The courses that thesefacilities provide include computer-related
skills and English, which meets the needsof the young generation. Because of suchnew courses, reformatory schools fordelinquent juveniles provide an even better
environment for education than mostordinary schools.

Korea is putting considerable effort into
the three-step strategy for dealing withjuvenile delinquency:i)
Deterrence,ii)
Law enforcement against crimes,
andRecently, about 120 inmates who wereabout to be released after completing aperiod of service at the reformatory school
refused the release and requested
permission to stay at the school to continue
the in education. Special permission was

1,475
148,558

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
given to these students to continue theirstudy in areas like computer skills.
Korea has a unique system in dealing
with cases of juvenile delinquency. On thecondition that the charged juvenile receive
the guidance of a counselor (who is avolunteer) for six to twelve months, theprosecutor suspends the prosecution of thecharged juvenile. This system has been
enforced for twenty years, and is evaluatedas very effective in facilitating the returnof delinquent juveniles to society.
These various measures undertaken by
the Korean government aims to prevent
delinquent juveniles from growing into
professional criminals, or members ofcriminal organizations.
B. Korean Legal Provisions on
Organized Crime
The formation of or participation in acriminal organization is criminalized under
Article 114 of the Korean Criminal Code.
Article 114 provides that if a person forms
an organization which aims to commit
crime, or participates in such organization,that person shall be punished for that crime
which the organization aims to commit.
Under this provision, a person who forms
or joins a criminal organization ispunishable regardless of whether or not theintended crime was actually performed.
For instance, the person who forms orparticipates in a criminal organization
aimed at committing robbery will bepunished for the crime of robbery, and theformation of or participation in a criminalorganization aimed at prostitution will bepunished for the crime of prostitution.
Furthermore, the Act on the AggravatedPunishment of Violence, a special criminalact, provides punishment for those persons
forming or joining organizations aimed atcommitting violent crimes such assault,

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infliction of injury, threatening, extortion,robbery etc. This Act provides:
i)death penalty, life imprisonment or
imprisonment of not less than ten
years for the boss of suchorganization;ii)
life imprisonment or imprisonmentof not less than seven years for theassistant leaders;iii) imprisonment of not less than two
years for ordinary members; andiv) imprisonment of not less than
three years for those persons whocollected or provided funds for suchan organization.
According to the case law, the elementsof a criminal organization are:i)that the organization be composedof specified members of plural
number;ii)
that the organization have thepurpose of committing a certain
crime or crimes;iii) t h a t t h e m e m b e r s o f t h eorganization act in concert for aperiod of time; andiv) that the organization have ahierarchical structure.
The court’s interpretation of theprovision on the formation of a criminalorganization is very strict. Although the
Korean laws criminalize the formation ofa criminal organization, it is still very
difficult to investigate and prosecutecriminal organizations. Because it is a
tough to substantiate the existence of ahierarchical structure in an organization,
it is sometimes very difficult to apply theprovisions on the formation of a criminalorganization.
In Korea, an average of 2,000 membersof criminal organizations are arrested eachyear. However, only an average of 700 are
punished for the formation of a criminalorganization, and the rest are punished forthe individual offenses they actually

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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committed, like assault, extortion and drugtrafficking.
Table 2Arrest of Persons for Organized Crimes
Year
Number of arrestees
Number of persons punished forformation of or participation in acriminal organization

1995
1,763
575

1996
1,928
578

1997
2,691
779

1998
2,303
750

1999
2,750
653

Total
11,435
3,335**Between January and July of 2000, the number of arrestees was 1,736, and among them, the number of
persons punished for formation of and participation in a criminal organizations was 283.

C. International Cooperation
As we step into the new millennium,
there is a rapid increase in the exchangeof persons and properties among nations.
The Iron Curtain that separated the Eastand the West is no more. Traditionalreligion is losing its significance.
Traditional morals and ethical views arechanging. All these provide on an ideal
breeding ground for transnationalorganized crime.
The coordination of measures to combat
organized crime is a slow and laborious
process, because of the differences between
domestic legal systems and the excessiveemphasis laid on sovereignty. Criminals
can use the differences in domestic criminal
laws to their own advantage. Organizedcrime is speedy and flexible. But thecriminal justice authorities are slow andrigid because they have to adhere to lawfulprocesses. If we are to effectively cope withtransnational organized crime, we need,
above all, to foster and strengtheninternational cooperation.
1. Mutual Legal Assistance andExtradition of Criminals
To d e v e l o p t h e f r a m e w o r k f o rinternational cooperation, we need tonegotiate and conclude new bilateral andmultilateral agreements on mutual legal
assistance and extradition, thereby
creating a seamless web of agreements
among countries. Recognizing this need,
the Korean government has signed twelve
bilateral extradition treaties and ninebilateral MLATs, and is continuing its
negotiation with other countries, such as
China, Russia, and Hong Kong to expand
this treaty web.

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Table 3
Countries with which Korea has Signed an Extradition Treaty
Country
Australia
Philippines
Spain
CanadaChile
Argentina
BrazilParaguay
MexicoUnited States of America
ThailandMongolia

Date of Signature
September 5, 1990
May 24, 1993
January 17, 1994
April 15, 1994
November 21, 1994
August 30, 1995
September 1, 1995
July 9, 1996
November 29, 1996
June 10, 1998
April 16, 1999
May 31, 1999

The treaty of mutual legal assistance on
criminal matters that was signed with
China is especially significant to Korea.
Ever since the two countries normalized
diplomatic relations in 1992, there has beena surge of exchange in persons andcommodities in many areas. Moreover,
several hundreds of thousands of people

Date of Effectuation
January 16, 1991
November 30, 1996
February 15, 1995
January 20, 1995
October 1, 1997
Not in effect yet
Not in effect yet
December 29, 1996
December 27, 1997
December 20, 1999
Not in effect yet
January 27, 2000

from each country have made visits to theother country. In 1998, half a million
Koreans visited China and ninety
thousand Chinese visited Korea. As suchexchange increases, crimes that arecommitted by each country’s citizens in
the other country are more likely to occur.

Table 4
Countries with which Korea has Signed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties
in Criminal Matters
Country
Australia
United States of America
CanadaFranceChina
Hong Kong
RussiaMongolia
New Zealand

Date of Signature
August 26, 1992
November 23, 1993
April 15, 1994
March 2, 1995
November 12, 1998
November 17, 1999
May 28, 1999
May 31, 1999
September 15, 1999

However, the traditional system ofmutual legal assistance and extradition,
which requires considerable documents
and formalities, is sometimes inadequate
to effectively cope with the new aspects of70

Date of Effectuation
December 19, 1993
May 23, 1997
February 1, 1995
March 8, 1997
March 24, 2000
February 25, 2000
Not in effect yet
January 27, 2000
March 30, 2000

crime in the 21st century, such as cybercrimes. We should study how to streamline
the procedures of mutual legal assistanceand extradition.

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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2. International Cooperation among
Law Enforcement Agencies
The Korean government is committed toenhancing international efforts forcombating drug crimes. Since 1997, theMinistry of Jusitice has annually hosted
the International Training Course on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,inviting senior members from various
criminal justice agencies in Asian
countries, including judges, prosecutors,
police officers and correctional offiers. For
three weeks, the participants have in-depth
discussions about new trends in drug
syndicates and organized crime groups,
and about effective joint countermeasuresagainst the internationalization of regional
crime. In doing so, the participants get toknow each other better, and naturally form
human networks for international
cooperation.
In April of this year, the Korean Ministryof Justice hosted the Second Organized
Crime Regional Initiative in the Asia/
Pacific Region in Seoul, jointly with the
Korean Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Officeand the Asia Foundation. The conference
was attended by thirty representatives
from five countries in the Asia Pacificregion. They are the United States, Japan,
China, Russia and Mongolia. At theconference, the participants discussed therealities of organized crime and drug
crimes in each country and thecountermeasures employed by eachcountry. At the close of the conference, theparticipants proposed measures forinternational cooperation to combat
organized crime in the region.
In detail, the participating countries
have talked about an informal network
composed of key working level members of
the international law enforcement
community dealing with organized crimes.
For this purpose, each country will makeavailable to each country, a contact list,

including the relevant contact names,
telephone and facsimile numbers, and email addresses, of its officials dealing withorganized crimes. Each participating
country will provide as much information
as is legally permissible, regarding laws orprocedures relevant to extradition ororganized crime, upon receiving an
informal request from an otherparticipating country via telephone,facsimile or e-mail. The participating
countries are now working together toestablish an informal network to combat
organized crime, as discossed.
The Korean prosecutor’s offices no longer
confine the scope of their function to purely
domestic affairs. In 1994 the Supreme
Public Prosecutor’s Office of Korea began
to exchange visits with the Supreme
People’s Procuratorate of China. On
September 6, 1999, the two agencies signed
an agreement to establish the frameworkfor strengthening cooperation between theprosecutor’s offices of the two countries.
Under the agreement, the two countries
now have active exchange and cooperation
at the level of local the prosecutor’s offices.
Korea and Japan established, as early
as in the 1980’s, a regular committee formutual cooperation in combating drug
crimes. The committee, which meetsannually, consists of officials from therespective Foreign Ministries, Justice
Ministries, National Police Agencies,
Customs Offices, and Ministries of Healthand Wealth. The regular meetings of thiscommittee provide a network of
information exchange for broad cooperationin the process of investigation and trial
proceedings, as well as opportunities fordiscussion on measures to reduce drug
demands. It is viewed that throughmeetings like this, Korea and Japan havesuccessfully intercepted the illicit
trafficking of methamphetamine between
the two countries.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
meetings at the regional level.
The Narcotics Division of the Supreme
Public Prosecutor’s Office in Korea, which
is charged with drug crimes, has held
ADLOMICO’s (Anti-Drug Liaison Officials’
Meeting for International Cooperation)quarterly meeting of drug enforcement
liaison officials, since April 1989 (theSupreme Public Prosecutor ’s Office isplanning to expand the present Narcotics
Division into the Narcotics Investigation
Department within this year). The
ADLOMICO meeting is aimed atenhancing cooperation among countries ina broader region than just those countries
directly neighboring Korea. Particularly,
the June ADLOMICO is an extensive
meeting participated in by experts from themember countries’ own law enforcement
agencies, as well as the UNDCP (United
Nations International Drug Control
Programme) and the ICPO (International
Criminal Police Organization) Bangkok
office.
In June of this year, the eleventh
ADLOMICO was successfully held in
Busan, participated by 122 persons from17 countries and 2 internationalorganizations. The participants exchanged
information on the current issues of drug
crimes in each country, and discussed
effective measure to intercept illicit drug
supply and to cut down on drug demand.
They also discussed measures for theexchange of information, and forcooperation in investigation.
In this session, the participants reached
at a consensus that cooperation should be
not only be made formally throughdiplomatic channels and internationalorganizations, but also be made informallyand directly among working-level officials.
The participants noted that to facilitatesuch informal and direct cooperation, it isimportant to promote direct contact ofworking-level officials through regular72

The Korean Customs, anothercomponent in enforcement against drug
crimes, have taken initiatives to combat
drug crimes. The Korean Customs Agency
have concluded agreements for mutual
assistance in criminal matters with 16
countries, thereby providing a legal
framework for cooperation with foreign
customs services. Based on theagreements, the Korean Customs Agency
actively exchanges information andassistance in customs affairs with foreigncountries.
In order to build on the cooperative
relationship with foreign customs agencies,
the Korean Customs has hosted andparticipated in an annual Customs
Cooperation Conference with the 16 parties
to the customs mutual assistanceagreements. There were 8 sessions in 1997,
3 sessions in 1998, 7 sessions in 1999 andthis year, there were 6 sessions. In eachsession, measures to enhance mutual
cooperation for effective drug control is
discussed as an important agenda item of
the Conference.
The Korea Customs, in order to provide
a basis for closer cooperation with theirneighbor country, Japan, concluded, inJune this year the MOU (Memorandum ofUnderstanding) with the Japanesecustoms authority on the joint projectagainst the smuggling of illicit drugs. As ameasure to effectively intercept thesmuggling of illicit drugs from one country
to the other, the two parties have agreed
to designate officials in charge, to exchange
information on the smuggling of illicit
drugs, mainly through these officials, andto provide each other with trend analysis
reports on illicit smuggling.
We cannot emphasize enough theimportance of international cooperation to116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
combat organized crime. As we are agreed
on this point, it is time that we moved on
to discover specific practical measures forinternational cooperation, and implement
them into action. In this respect, I believethat the Korean Government’s efforts forinternational cooperation could set a good
example for the international community.
We believe that when it comes to drug
problems, no country could or should be an
isolated island. Without close cooperation,
sacrifice and solidarity, international
cooperation in the true sense of the word
will not be achieved, and without genuine
cooperation, we can not eradicate drug
crimes. In this regard, each government
should do its best to provide an adequate
basis for international cooperation. The
Korean Government will take an active
part in this motion of the international
community to promote cooperation.
3. International Support by the
Korean Police
The Korean National Police Agency
joined the International Criminal Police
Organization (Interpol) in 1964 andestablished the National Central Bureau
in 1996. As of December 1999, the total
number of cases investigated with thesupport of international cooperation
reached 2,141. Among them, the KoreanInterpol made requests for 807 cases andreceived requests from foreign Interpols for
1,334 cases.
The region with which the KoreanInterpol has most frequently cooperated ininvestigations is North America, and otherregions on the frequently requested list are
Asia, Europe, Central and South America
and Oceania, in the order of frequency.

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74

Europe

50
253

North
America
290
286

30

124

InterpolHeadquarter

131

Central& SouthAmerica95
111

78

Oceania

91

73

13
47

Japan

Africa

1,334

807

64
61

Total

China

* “Requests made” is the number of wanted criminals that Korean Interpol has made requests in regard of to the Interpolsof other countries.
**“Requests received” is the number of wanted criminals that Interpols of other countries have made requests in regardof to the Korean Interpol.

Requests
madeRequests
received

Continents/
Countries

Table 5International Cooperation of
Korean National Central Bureau

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
Some cases of how two police force works
through international cooperation are as
follows:
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

In July 1998, a thirty-nine year
old Japanese male robbed a bankclerk who was carrying 5.5 million
Yen in cash (equivalent to US$500,000), at a parking lot
adjacent to the bank. The
Japanese male threatened theclerk with a gun. Shortly after,
the offender fled to Korea using a
fake passport. A team of several
Korean detectives arrested him at
his residence in Korea, and theoffender was deported.
In January 1999, a Korean maleworking in Hong Kong embezzled
US $4.4 million in company funds,
and illegally transferred themoney to another country. When
Hong Kong’s law enforcement
authorities blocked thewithdrawal, the offender fled
Hong Kong via Paris to
Switzerland. A Hong Kong police
agent persuaded him tovoluntarily surrender. He wasarrested at the Kimpo Airport inSeoul, Korea.
In April 1999, a Korean banker
who embezzled US $220,000, fromthe bank for which he had worked,
fled to Australia. When he enteredFiji by using a fake passport on
his way to New Zealand, he wasarrested and deported to Korea.

D. Witness and Victim Protection
Programs
Korea enacted the Witness and Victim
Protection Law on August 31, 1999, which
entered into force on June 1, 2000. The
purpose of this law is to protect thewitnesses and victims of certain crimes, sothat they can safely support and assist thecriminal proceedings.

In Korea, there was a shocking casewhere a victim of a crime was stabbed todeath by a member of a criminalorganization, when he was walking out of
the court building after giving testimony
at the trial. There are many cases where
victims and witnesses find it difficult togive assistance to the criminal trial becauseof the intimidation of the offender. This is
not restricted only to organized crimes, but
includes ordinary criminal cases.
The Witness and Victim Protection Law
applies to witnesses and victims relatedwith certain crimes, and their families.
Certain crimes include:i) the formation of and participation incriminal organization, and crimes
committed by criminal organization;ii) violent crimes such as murder,
robbery, rape and kidnapping, andiii) drug-related crimes.
If there is a possibility of retaliation on
witness, the name of the witness will be
kept secret, and the trial can also be heldin secret. If the prosecutor judges that
there is a possibility of retaliation on awitness, the prosecutor will direct theemployees of the prosecutor’s office or thepolice to protect the witness.
When the witness or the victim sustains
financial loss, the government may give
relief money for the loss, and if it isnecessary for the witness or the victim tochange homes or jobs for safety reasons,the government may bear the cost. The
Law also provides that if a person reports
to authorities a crime in which she/he isinvolved, that person may be exempt frompunishment or be subject to mitigatedpunishment for that crime. The Law
thereby protects the whistleblower orinside reporter.

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IV. CONCLUSION
When we talk about organized crime, thefirst word that comes to our minds is“mafia”. The term ‘mafia’ is used as asynonym for both international anddomestic criminal organizations. We talkabout the Italian Mafia, Russian Mafia andPolish Mafia. In Asia, the Japanese Yakuza
and Chinese Triads are known to besynonymous for criminal organizations.
But, no one really knows about the Mafia,
Yakuza or Triads or about their scale andbusinesses.
The formation of Mafia, Yakuza andTriads is not the subject of investigation in
itself. Only when the crimes of themembers of these organizations aredetected do the investigative authorities
begin investigation. The investigative
authorities try to reveal how the members
and leaders of a criminal organization areassociated with each other, but in manycases, these efforts are not profitable. Thisis because criminal organizations mobilize
funds illegally, and they invest them into
lawful businesses. They do hiding
activities behind legal fronts.
These criminal organizations ensuresufficient welfare, care and remuneration
for their members, whereas cruelpunishment or retaliation awaits betrayal
or disobedience. Through these means,
criminal organizations successfully preventthe in members from walking out of theorganizations. They dress like smartlooking businessmen and act like such.
They hire lawyers to defend them, and win
over politicians or public officials withbribes. In Korea, there were times when
the boss of a criminal organization would
approach the prosecutor or police official
newly coming to the office, to bribe themby hosting welcome party. In doing so, thebosses would pretend as if they were
influential persons in the community.

76

I would like to talk about four problems
in the investigation of organized crime in
Korea. First, it is almost impossible to start
an investigation of the criminalorganization itself. This is also true inJapan. You can’t begin to investigate anorganization, just because it is reported to
be organized. Such an investigation of anorganization can be subject to the criticism
that this investigate an violates freedomof association under the Constitution. If
the suspected organization has a religious
element, it is even more difficult toinvestigate. It is because freedom of
religion and the right to free association to
pursue religion is more strongly protectedunder the Constitution. This explains why
there were only a few criminalorganizations that were investigated andprosecuted in Korea, although the Criminal
Code clearly criminalizes the offense of theformation and participation of a criminalorganization.
Second, it is becoming more and moredifficult to investigate and confiscate thefunds of a criminal organization. Even if
we have a suspicion that the criminalorganization launders money by
establishing legitimate companies andfalsely cleaining the money transactions forthe operation of those companies, it is noteasy to trace the flow of money. Banks try
to protect the secrets of their customers.
The trend in the legislation of mostcountries is to protect the the secrecy ofaccount owners.
Korea has implemented the so-called
real name transaction protection systemsince 1993. In 1997, the Real NameTransaction and Protection of Secrecy Act
was enacted. As you can see from the nameof this law, the law focuses on the protectionof the secrecy of bank transactions.
Therefore, for investigative authorities tobegin tracing the flow of funds, mere
suspicion is not enough. They must have

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
proof for certain violations, and present awarrant issued by the court. As the process
for the issue of a warrant by the court isslow and laborious, the investigative
authorities sometimes give up
investigation. It is equally as difficult toobtain materials other than financial
materials. Data protection laws haveconsiderably restricted the ability ofinvestigative authorities to collect andanalyze information.
To effectively address money laundering,
Korea is preparing legislation for the
introduction of an FIU (Financial
Intelligence Unit) system. Under thissystem, the financial institutions should
promptly report to the FIU those suspicioustransactions indicatiny money laundering,
and when the FIU determines that thetransaction is related to a crime, it could
provide information on the transaction to
the investigative authorities. This system
will allow us to get fast information ontransactions that are suspected of being
associated with organized crimes, thebribery of public officials, tax evasion andthe smuggling of funds. In this regard, thissystem will be of great assistance in theinvestigation of transnational organizedcrime. Currently, a task force including aprosecutor has been established for theestablishment of FIU in Korea. We areworking to finalize the draft law for theestablishment of FIU within this year.
Along with the FIU law, we are also
working on anti-money laundering law.
This law would criminalize money
laundering, and provide measures toconfiscate the illegal proceeds obtained
through the commission of crime. The
scope of crimes subject to confiscation will
include 57 types of crimes includingorganized crime, tax evasion, bribery andthe smuggling of funds. The confiscationof illegal proceeds obtained from drugrelated offenses is made possible by adifferent law, the Special Act against Illicit
Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances.
If both of the FIU law and the antimoney laundering law are finally enacted,
the investigation of suspicious financialtransactions will be conducted based on
information provided under the FIU law,and the illegal proceeds identified throughthe investigation will be confiscated under
the anti-money laundering law.
The third problem in organized crime
investigation is that it is becoming
increasingly difficult to monitor theactivities of criminal organizations bymeans of wiretapping. In Korea, thewiretapping issue recently gave rise toheated discussions. It even stirred politicaldisputes, and the public suffered anxiety
for fear of being monitored throughwiretapping. As a result, wiretapping byinvestigative authorities has been
restricted severely, and this is making
investigation a tougher job.
The fourth problem is that the arrest,
prosecution and punishment of membersof criminal organizations is becoming moredifficult, because they are able to hire goodlawyers with adequate funds. They also
make good use of the loopholes in the law.
The Korean Criminal Procedure Codeprovides a very complicated procedure forthe pre-trial confinement of criminals,
more complicated than any other criminal
procedure law in the world. The police canarrest a suspect only under the supervisionof a prosecutor, except in urgent situations.
The arrested suspect can apply for a reviewof the legality of the arrest. In order toplace the arrested suspect underconfinement, the prosecutor should request
the issue of a warrant of confinement
within 48 hours of the arrest (the Koreansystem distinguishes between the arrest

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
and the confinement, unlike the US
system. The Korean system is similar to
the Japanese system). The judge issues
the warrant of confinement, after holdinga hearing where the arrested suspect ispresent (Article 201bis of the Criminal
Procedure Code). This procedure is called
the review for a warrant of confinement.
It has been implemented since Decemberof 1997. Through this procedure, about
15% of the arrested suspects get released.
After the suspects are placed underconfinement, they can apply for a reviewof the legality of confinement. At this stage,a number of suspects get released (Article
214bis of the Criminal Procedure Code).
After indictmeny, a person is allowed apply
for bail. At this stage, a number of people
are released on bail. The release is also
possible before the indictment, if bailmoney is deposited. The convicted person
can be released on probation at the end of
the first trial.
From the arrest to the conclusion of thefirst trial, there are 6 stages including:i) Arrest;ii) Review of the legality of arrest;iii) Pre-confinement hearing on thesuspect;iv) Confinement;v) Review of the legality of confinement,or pre-confinement bail; andvi) Post-confinement bail.
The suspect may choose to give up
certain stages. As we can see in these four
problems, it is becoming more difficult toinvestigate crime, as criminals become
more organized and intelligent. For more
efficient investigation of organized crime
or transnational organized crime, there aresome things that we should attend to.
Mutual understanding and cooperationprompt cooperation-among countries isessential for efficient investigation of78

transnational organized crime. To
facilitate cooperation among countries, itis necessary to enact anti-money
laundering laws, and to make theprocedures of extradition and mutual legal
assistance more expeditious and lesscomplicated. The current system of
extradition and mutual legal assistance is
too laborious and tedious.
Domestically, we need to enforce crime
deterrence measures, especially measuresagainst delinquent juveniles who are very
likely to end up in criminal organizations
as adults. We can call them ‘reserve troops’
of organized crime.
We need to make sufficient use ofscientific techniques in investigation,
which do not exclude wiretapping and the
tracing of funds. In using these techniques
in investigation, we should also keep inmind to protect the rights, property andsecrecy of our citizens.
Criminals and criminal organizations
should be subject to strict punishment
according to law. Illegal proceeds obtained
through drug trafficking, prostitution,
gambling, fraud, extortion and theft should
be confiscated thoroughly. We should work
to promote that sound citizenship cannot
be bought with illegal money. Finally, we
should go on to apply administrative andeconomic sanctions against businesses
operated by criminal organizations. Thereis no hope in such a society where corrupt
politicians or public officials cooperate withor remain silent about the businesses ofcriminal organizations.