Revenge-for-hire rings lure minors with promises of 10 million won

Operators of revenge-for-hire services in Korea appear to be recruiting minors on Telegram to carry out criminal tasks on their behalf, promising to pay them large sums of money, according to local news outlets on Tuesday.

The hiring drive comes as police launch a broad investigation into the niche industry, but have yet to focus on whether minors are being drawn into the work.

Korea's Criminal Act treats people who direct others to commit crimes as harshly as those who carry them out, but it contains no separate provision for aggravated punishment when minors are used.

Telegram's channels for these services each have hundreds of subscribers.

One channel listed the requirements as "no restrictions on age or gender," "at least one limb attached," "able to tolerate foul smells" and "a wide range of mobility." 

The pitch offered "monthly pay of 10 million won [$6,600]," "500,000 to 1.5 million won per job" and "the lowest arrest rate" in the industry, and claimed the work was "carried out within the bounds of the law."

The same operator published a screen capture of a Telegram exchange with someone who described themselves as underage, saying, "I'm confident I can do this properly." 

The operator replied, "You can," and sent the channel link. The post was captioned "Minor recruit team makes its debut."

Local news agency Yonhap on Tuesday reported about posing as a middle school student and asking about getting a job.

The service operator said, "We don't need anyone right now," but said it would follow up. The exchange continued even after the reporter explained that parental consent could not be obtained.

"A minor who acts on instructions may fall under the Juvenile Act, but when an adult uses a young person specifically to avoid prosecution, the offense is so serious that it calls for severe punishment," said attorney Kwak Joon-ho.

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 JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]