Man arrested in revenge-for-hire scheme allegedly linked to at least three other similar crimes

A man arrested in Incheon for carrying out acts of revenge on behalf of paying clients had committed at least three similar crimes across the country before his arrest, police said on Wednesday.

The Incheon Seobu Police Station said that it had referred the suspect to prosecutors on charges of property damage and trespassing. He is accused of disguising himself as a courier, smearing paint on the front door and throwing eggs and other food at an apartment in Seo District at around 5:30 a.m. on May 13.

After the victim reported the incident, police tracked the suspect and arrested him in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, where he had fled after the attack, at around 3:30 a.m. on May 16. He was subsequently detained.

During the investigation, police found that the suspect had carried out at least three other similar attacks, traveling across the country — including to Busan and Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang — after receiving commissions through Telegram. “I had agreed to receive between 500,000 and 1.8 million won [$330 and $1,200] as a completion fee but was arrested before I could collect it,” he told police.

Investigators believe the attacks were commissioned by individuals who harbored grievances against the victims and are continuing to look into the case. “We have identified signs of additional offenses beyond the four confirmed incidents and are investigating further,” a police official said. “We are also tracking down those who hired him.”

The case drew attention at the highest levels of government. The day before the suspect's arrest, President Lee Jae Myung posted a police briefing document about the case on his social media account, writing that “hiring someone to carry out private revenge and being hired to do so are both serious crimes,” and that “in a modern civilized nation, private disputes must be resolved through the rule of law.”

Revenge-for-hire crimes commissioned via Telegram first emerged in Daegu in August of last year, and 50 suspects have been arrested in connection with such cases to date, according to the briefing document shared by the president.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY BYUN MIN-CHUL [[email protected]]