Police in South Korea say illegal currency exchanges are targeting Chinese gamblers in the island province of Jeju.
The province, a popular holiday resort for Chinese tourists, is home to eight casinos that only admit foreign passport holders.
But officers say crime rates in the area are surging, and say a rise in gambling-related activities is to blame.
The Jeju Metropolitan Police Agency said this week it was launching a range of new security activities to prevent “related crimes,” the South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported.
The agency said illegal currency exchange activities involving foreign passport holders were “on the rise.”
A spokesperson said illegal currency exchange operators cater to “undocumented immigrants or casino patrons attempting to secretly send large sums of money, exceeding national remittance limits, back to their home countries.”
Chinese Gamblers: Police Announce Exchange Crackdown
The police said illegal currency exchange operators also provide illegal loans. The spokesperson said their activities also lead to “serious crimes such as fraud, kidnapping, confinement, extortion, and assault.”
Scammers have also begun to target Chinese gamblers and undocumented immigrants in Jeju, police say.
In February, a Chinese man in his 50s handed over 30 million won ($20,000) to a man posing as an illegal Chinese currency exchange operator.
Police said the duo met on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. The man handed over the money, “believing the exchange operator’s promise to send the money safely to China,” officers said.
But the operator reportedly broke off contact with the man after taking the latter’s money and failed to send any of it overseas.
Illegal currency exchange crimes have often led to violence, police added.
In November, three illegal currency exchangers were arrested by the police after holding a Chinese woman in her 30s captive for two hours in a hotel room.
Police found the woman in a luxury hotel in Jeju City that also boasts a casino. The woman told police she had come to exchange $87,000 worth of Chinese yuan for South Korean won.
Just over a year ago, three Chinese nationals, including a woman in her 40s, were arrested on suspicion of stabbing an illegal currency exchange operator to death to repay their casino gambling debts.
The trio is accused of stealing valuables worth around $57,000, including cash and casino chips.
Police Issue Warning
Jeju police told the newspaper they expect illegal currency exchange crimes to increase in the near future as visitor numbers rise.
Visitor numbers to Jeju increased almost fourfold between 2022 and 2024, when footfall hit 662,976.
Casino revenues ballooned to $324 million in the same period.
Police say they have launched a dedicated WeChat channel for visitors who want to tip off Jeju’s Foreign Affairs Police Force about suspected currency exchange-related crimes.
Officers say they will also step up awareness campaigns on social media platforms “primarily used by foreign visitors.”
The Jeju police say they will also display promotional posters urging the use of official financial institutions at casinos and “other venues where high-value currency exchange transactions are common.”
“Using illegal currency exchanges can make you a target for violent crimes that endanger your life and property,” the spokesperson said.
Jeju Province officials say they will assist in the crackdown by conducting special inspections at casinos to verify compliance with entry procedures.
Officials conducted a similar campaign last year, when they discovered 15 violations.
Police in Jeju arrested several Chinese individuals after what they described as a “riot” broke out in a casino in September.
A melee resulted, involving about 50 Chinese nationals and several casino employees, after a gambler accused a croupier of “rigging” a card game.
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Police in South Korea say illegal currency exchanges are targeting Chinese gamblers in the island province of Jeju. The province, a popular holiday resort for Chinese tourists, is home to eight casinos that only admit foreign passport holders. But officers say crime rates in the area are surging, and say a rise in gambling-related activities
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