Young thugs threaten the peace through brawling, loansharking and intimidation

Social Affairs

Published: 13 Dec. 2023, 18:56

Young thugs threaten the peace through brawling, loansharking and intimidation

Two young gangsters now under arrest go on a rampage in a hospital located in Seoul in March. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency arrested four individuals who identified themselves as “MZ gangsters” for racketeering, including lending money at annual interest rates of 1,500 percent.

The alleged mobsters are being investigated for assault, blackmail and loan-sharking.

So-called MZ gangsters — members of the Millennial Generation or Generation Z and thus in their 20s and 30s — have recently emerged as a serious social problem.

So-called MZ gangsters pose for a photo at a gathering. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

Organized through peer gatherings on social media, the young thugs blatantly disturb the public peace by engaging in brawls, damaging property and other antisocial behavior.

Police say the four under arrest provided loans of 3 million ($2,272) to 5 million won to a Texas Hold 'em pub owner between 2021 and April of this year.

The pub owner was financially struggling due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The interest rate on the loan was set at 30 percent per week, resulting in an annual interest rate of 1,500 percent.

When the pub owner struggled to meet the interest payments, the four alleged hooligans threatened to “sell” his girlfriend to a remote island. They paid frequent visits to his parents to seek information on his whereabouts and even threatened to slice his Achilles tendons.

They also warned him that even if they went to jail, they would be released shortly.

Overwhelmed, the pub owner attempted to kill himself by jumping off a bridge on the Han River in April. He is now undergoing psychological evaluation.

Two of the alleged thugs in question later came to public's attention when they caused a disturbance in March.

The pair were drinking in downtown Seoul when one of them — dead drunk — unexpectedly struck his own head with a bottle. The gangster was rushed to the emergency room for medical attention.

However, upon being treated at the hospital, the injured gangster began picking fights with the medical staff.

He claimed that the staff was rude and not treating him properly.

The gangsters tore off their shirts to reveal bodies heavily covered in tattoos, intimidating others by roaming around the hospital and even damaging the entrance to the emergency room.

The police said they obtained a letter exchanged with another gang member in jail during the arrest.

A letter was sent by a fellow gangster in prison. It says ″As you say, I should share the tables with normal people. Must a gangster share a table with those retarded lower creatures? These civilians who are less evolved should be slaughtered like when the Gwangju massacre took place back in Chun Doo-hwan's day.″ [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

The letter characterized civilians as lower organisms unworthy of sharing a table with.

They also express admiration for the notorious Japanese crime syndicate, the Yakuza.

Law enforcement authorities say that they are looking to see if the young gangsters have committed additional crimes.

They urge the public to come forward and report harm caused by these MZ gangsters, promising protection from retaliation.

BY LEE YOUNG-KEUN, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]