SEOUL, South Korea — Members of a Cambodia-based voice phishing organization involved in romance scams have been sentenced to prison in the first trial, with courts also ordering the confiscation of illegal profits.
On October 17, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Judge Kang Min-ho) handed down sentences to five defendants:
Seo (32) — 6 years in prison
Kim (22) — 4 years in prison
Han (27) and Kim (28) — 3 years and 6 months each
Kim (26) — 3 years in prison
The court also ordered the confiscation of over ₩100 million in criminal proceeds.
According to prosecutors, the group operated from Cambodia under the so-called “Hanya Call Center,” which was led by a Chinese national using the alias “Ma Dong-seok,” the same name as a popular Korean actor. From October last year to April this year, the scammers stole about ₩527 million from 11 victims through online romance fraud.
Seo, who received the longest sentence, was identified as a managerial figure who supervised several subordinates in executing the scams.
In its ruling, the court said:
“They inflicted serious and irreparable harm on numerous victims. Establishing a criminal base abroad and conducting organized scams makes such crimes more complex, harder to detect, and causes greater damage.”
The judge noted that the defendants knew the operation was illegal but voluntarily traveled abroad to participate as call center consultants who directly deceived victims.
Meanwhile, the Voice Phishing Crime Government Joint Investigation Team of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Kim Bo-seong) announced that eight additional Hanya Call Center members were arrested and indicted between August 5 and September 29.
These suspects face charges of joining and operating a criminal organization, violating the Communications Fraud Damage Relief Act, and concealing criminal proceeds. Authorities said they used aliases like “Je Gal-ryang,” “Non-gae,” and “Kim Yu-sin” while defrauding victims of hundreds of millions of won.
Additionally, three more individuals, including a 26-year-old identified as Mr. A, were arrested and indicted for aiding the group by providing bank and cryptocurrency accounts, violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.
Authorities said the organization’s leader “Ma Dong-seok” and several Korean deputy managers remain at large.
