SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) — The number of foreigners who fell victim to fraud in South Korea has nearly quadrupled in just two years, a lawmaker said Sunday, citing data from the National Police Agency.
The number of foreign victims who were scammed rose from 5,307 in 2023 to 8,671 in 2024, before surging to 19,907 last year, according to Rep. Kim Joon-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party.
Many of the cases reportedly involved overseas fans of Korean pop culture, known as “hallyu,” with scammers approaching fans and offering merchandise related to K-pop stars, then vanishing after receiving money.
Among crimes targeting foreigners reported from June 12-13, when K-pop megagroup BTS’ concert took place in the southeastern city of Busan, three of the five reported crimes were scam cases.
The data showed that the number of foreigners who fell victim to all crime cases jumped 81.7 percent over the past two years, with the number rising from 28,048 in 2023 to 50,975 last year.
The ruling party lawmaker called for efforts to prevent crimes targeting foreigners amid a sharp increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea.
The number of foreigners who visited South Korea jumped 71.7 percent over the past two years from 11 million in 2023 to 18.9 million last year, according to government tourism data.
This undated file photo shows the National Police Agency in Seoul. (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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