Police have sharply shortened the period for advance notice of administrative action to six days from 42 to prevent operators of illegal adult gaming cafes from voluntarily closing their businesses and resuming operations under a different name. Authorities also froze 5.2 billion won in criminal proceeds earned through illegal operations and blocked seven illegal websites to cut off the basis for reopening.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 20th that it detected a total of 387 violations and arrested seven people, including operators and ringleaders, during a three-week crackdown on illegal adult gaming cafes from Aug. 24 through Sept. 11. The number of cases rose more than 22% from a year earlier. Another 607 cases involving violations of facility standards were referred to local governments.
The crackdown marked the first application of a fast-track procedure for enforcement and administrative action, established jointly by the police agency, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Game Rating and Administration Committee and local governments. Previously, even after police detected illegal operations, it typically took two to three months for administrative procedures to begin, allowing owners to voluntarily close their businesses or transfer ownership to continue operating.
Police now notify local governments of violations immediately after enforcement so that investigations and administrative procedures proceed at the same time. As a result, the time taken to issue advance notice of administrative action fell to 6.2 days from 42.2 days. Once advance notice is issued under the Game Industry Promotion Act, filing for business closure becomes impossible, which police said blocks attempts to reopen through loopholes.
Authorities also stepped up recovery of criminal proceeds. The amount subject to pre-indictment confiscation and preservation orders rose to 5.2 billion won this year from 60 million won last year. Tax data reported to the National Tax Service also increased to 41.6 billion won from 5.8 billion won. Police blocked seven illegal websites and said they would shorten the site-blocking procedure, which previously took more than 20 days, to within five days.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency apprehended 15 people, including the ringleader of a group that set up gambling website servers and a call center in Vietnam and managed access from 2,133 adult gaming cafes in South Korea, and arrested nine of them. The agency also obtained a pre-indictment preservation order covering 2.7 billion won in criminal proceeds. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency apprehended four people, including the ringleader of a group that created illegal gaming websites and distributed them to 121 adult gaming cafes in the greater Seoul area, and arrested three of them.
"This is the result of active administration achieved through the combined efforts of the central and local governments to minimize public harm caused by illegal adult gaming cafes," said Kim Young-geun, head of the National Police Agency's Crime Prevention and Response Bureau. "We will work to strengthen cooperation with related agencies while creating an environment that allows us to focus more on enforcement and investigations."
