Korean police in major online gambling bust

The South Korean National Police Agency revealed in a press statement Monday that two men alleged to be the operators of an illegal and as yet unnamed online gambling website have been arrested and the business shut down.

Police spokesmen claimed that over the eighteen months the financial betting site had been in operation it had accrued profits of 4.6 billion won (US$4 million) on turnover of around 14.5 billion won.

On the website, members bet on potential fluctuations in the Korea composite stock price index (Kospi) 200, forecasting how much the index might rise or fall.

The two men arrested were identified under the very common Korean names of Lee and Kim; the former handled customer relations and support, and the latter was the CEO and technical executive.

The police claim that Kim began operating in October 2014 from an apartment, quickly building the business into a successful enterprise that allowed him to improve his personal financial circumstances.

His downfall came when an employee sent email messages to some customers passing himself off as the cyber investigations bureau of the national police; alarmed punters contacted state authorities, which triggered a federal investigation.

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