Released After 6-Year Prison Sentence, Fraudster Vanishes Into Thin Air

This was at a hotel in Daegu last December.

A guest singer is performing for a room packed with elderly attendees.

The trot music seems out of place with the Picasso paintings on display, and a banner reads, "Celebrating the Confirmation of the World-Famous Masterpiece Exhibition."

[Guest Singer: It is an honor for my family to be invited to this wonderful convention event hosted by the world-class model enterprise and social firm, Barak Sharing Group.]

"Barak Sharing Group" is the very name that appeared at the fake Picasso exhibition, the oriental medicine clinic crowded with elderly people, and a nearby cafe.

What kind of organization is it?

On its website, the company promotes itself as a leader in "decentralized pay" and "blockchain" technology.

The founder is a man named Kang, but surprisingly, his name can be found in court rulings.

[KNN News, September 5, 2023: A group has been apprehended by police for swindling over 100 billion won by deceiving victims with promises of triple returns on virtual asset investments. There are over 6,000 victims across the country.]

This refers to the "Ready Go Investment Club" case that made headlines in 2023.

The court ruling at the time stated that Kang, the founder of Barak Sharing Group, acted as the Daegu center manager for the 110 billion won coin fraud scheme, attracting investors and pocketing billions of won in profits.

Although Kang, the mastermind of the case, was sentenced to six years in prison, he was released on bail in less than five months for reasons that remain unclear.

Following his release, our reporting team tracked Kang's activities and found that he is suspected of continuing his fraudulent schemes by establishing the Rainbow Village Cooperative in Daegu and repeatedly changing company names.

[Victim A: They kept changing names—both their own and the company's—and committing the same crimes. They held weekly business presentations targeting the elderly to collect investment funds. They promised to pay out 200% to 300% of the principal investment as dividends.]

According to an internal source at the Barak Sharing Foundation, Kang reportedly died of a sudden heart attack this past May.

This is why the situation bears an eerie resemblance to the "Cho Hee-pal case" that shook the nation in 2004.

While these upgraded fraudulent schemes, now involving fake artworks, continue to run rampant, there were no safeguards in place to protect the victims.

"Picasso Exhibition" Celebration? Turns Out to be Mastermind of a 100 Billion Won Fraud (July 9, 2026, 12 PM News)

Reported by Nam Hyo-ju (TBC) | Written by Lee Se-young | Video by Park Jong-young (TBC) | Graphics by Kim Se-yoon (TBC) | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.