YANGSAN — Nine people in their teens and 20s have been arrested for assaulting foreign nationals and extorting money from them after targeting riders of unregistered motorcycles without license plates in neighborhoods with large foreign populations.
Yangsan Police Station in South Gyeongsang Province said on the 17th that it had referred two men in their 20s, including one identified only as A, to prosecutors in custody on charges including joint extortion under the Act on the Punishment of Violences. Gimhae Western Police Station booked seven others on charges including aggravated assault and referred them to prosecutors without detention.
From June to July this year, the two suspects roamed neighborhoods in Yangsan with large foreign populations, picking out foreigners riding motorcycles without license plates and chasing them, police said. They are accused of blocking the victims' path and threatening to report them to police for riding without plates, taking cash and valuables worth about 2 million won in 24 separate incidents. They also face charges of unlawful confinement and trespassing.
The police investigation found that the pair exploited the victims' fear of reporting the crimes, knowing they risked deportation or other penalties if their unregistered motorcycles or undocumented status came to light. Some victims who insisted they had no money did report the incidents to police. In other cases, the suspects followed victims to their homes or surrounded them and demanded their licenses.
Similar crimes were uncovered in Gimhae. Gimhae Western Police Station referred seven people to prosecutors without detention on charges of chasing foreigners riding motorcycles without plates in areas with large foreign populations in Gimhae between September 2025 and June this year, demanding their identification and kicking their motorcycles to intimidate them. Six of the suspects were middle or high school students. No money was taken because the victims fled in fear or did not understand Korean.
"The investigation found that the suspects did this to show off their power," police said. In both cases, police opened investigations after receiving tips that such crimes were occurring in neighborhoods with large foreign populations, and arrested the nine suspects one after another.
"Given the victims' status as foreign nationals, we believe there are more cases that have gone unconfirmed," a police official said. "Crimes that exploit the vulnerable legal status of foreigners, whether under the guise of private punishment or to extort money, are particularly egregious, and we will continue to respond firmly."
