Private Revenge Agency Gang Sentenced for Dumping Waste and Vandalism for 2.5 Million Won Per Job

A group that carried out so-called "private revenge" services—dumping waste and vandalizing homes and offices in exchange for money—has been sentenced to prison terms.

The Busan District Court sentenced a person in their 30s, identified as A, to two years in prison suspended for three years on charges including instigating criminal trespassing and property damage.

B, a person in their 30s who directly carried out the crimes, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison. C, in their 20s, received a one-year prison sentence suspended for two years, and D, in their 20s, was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for two years.

E, a person in their 20s who connected the parties to the crimes, was sentenced to six months in prison.

According to the ruling, A was looking for a way to get back money lent to acquaintances including B, when E informed A about a Telegram chat room that offered "private revenge" services.

The Telegram room accepted requests from the general public and carried out crimes such as dumping waste or spray-painting target homes and offices for 2.5 million won per job.

E proposed to A that they take on revenge jobs from this chat room, have debtors like B commit the crimes, and use the money received to pay off the debts.

When A agreed, E informed the Telegram chat room operator that they would take charge of crimes in the Busan area and received jobs.

The three debtors, including B, who decided to join the crimes, disguised themselves as delivery workers and entered the common entrance of an apartment building in Busan at around 3:30 PM on March 19.

They sprayed red paint on the victim's front door and walls and dumped waste.

They also scattered leaflets containing photos of the victim's ID and false defamatory claims in the apartment elevators and hallways, leaving threatening messages such as "Next is your family."

The court pointed out, "Considering the motive, method, and extent of the damage, the nature of the crimes is extremely severe," adding, "A led the crimes and ordered other defendants to execute them, while E introduced and aided the crimes, making them highly blameworthy."

However, the court took into consideration factors such as the defendants admitting to their crimes, participating in the crimes to clear their debts, and not acquiring substantial actual profits in sentencing.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.