‘Pig-butchering’ romance scams take hold in South Korea
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‘Pig-butchering’ romance scams have cost victims in South Korea more than 100 billion won (S$90.4 million) so far in 2025, while the arrest rate remains below 50 per cent.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SEOUL – South Korea is facing a surge in romance scams that are increasingly intertwined with cryptocurrency investment fraud.
Such scams have cost victims more than 100 billion won (S$90.4 million) so far in 2025, while the arrest rate remains below 50 per cent.
According to data submitted to Democratic Party lawmaker Han Byung-do by the National Police Agency, there were 1,565 reported romance scam cases from January to September 2025, with total losses rising 48 per cent from 2024.
Despite the increase, suspects have been apprehended in only 46.9 per cent of cases, up from 12.7 per cent the previous year.
Romance scams, which exploit emotional relationships built online, have become more elaborate by combining fake cryptocurrency investments and so-called “pig-butchering” tactics – a method where fraudsters “fatten up” their victims with false affection and small initial profits before “butchering” them with large-scale financial losses.
Criminals contact victims through social media or dating apps, maintain daily conversations to build intimacy and then introduce investment platforms that display fabricated returns. Once victims invest substantial amounts or try to withdraw funds, the platforms disappear and communication ceases.
The tactics have also evolved significantly over the past few years. Romance scams once relied heavily on perpetrators posing as foreigners, such as doctors stationed overseas, soldiers on peacekeeping missions or professionals working in finance.
They approached South Korean victims through social media or dating apps, often claiming to be planning a trip to South Korea or to have inherited a fortune. These schemes primarily targeted English-speaking South Koreans, using foreign profiles and stolen photos to establish credibility before requesting money under the pretense of travel expenses, customs fees or emergencies.
Now, however, the operations have grown far more sophisticated and localised. With organised crime groups in South-east Asia hiring fluent Korean speakers, many scammers now impersonate South Koreans, adopting realistic names, accents and even Korean social habits to avoid suspicion.
In one notable case, a South Korean couple believed to be behind a 12 billion won pig-butchering network were arrested in Cambodia earlier in 2025, prompting Seoul to formally request their extradition.
The recent Cambodia case exposed how these networks recruit and train local South Koreans to run large-scale online fraud rings
Experts warn that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are amplifying the threat. Deepfake videos and doctored IDs have been used to impersonate actors, soldiers and business executives. In one recent case, a woman in her 50s lost five billion won to scammers who used AI-generated photos and videos of a famous South Korean celebrity.
The schemes are diversifying. Beyond romance and crypto, scammers have faked courier companies demanding customs fees for non-existent packages, invited victims to “invest” in online shopping malls and offered to “gift” convertible points that require “processing fees”.
Police say that what makes these scams uniquely destructive is the psychological manipulation involved.
“It’s not about gullibility,” a police officer said. “The perpetrators spend hours building rapport and emotional trust – that’s why victims fall for them.”
Lawmakers are calling for stronger international cooperation and tighter monitoring of online dating platforms, which are rife with fake accounts.
“Romance scams are no longer isolated crimes,” Mr Han said. “They are transnational, AI-driven operations that demand a coordinated global response.”
The wave of romance scams appears to have gained momentum around 2020, prompting South Korean authorities to begin formally tracking losses in 2024.
According to police data, there were 1,265 reported cases, totalling 67.5 billion won in losses, from February to December 2024. In just the first seven months of 2025, another 1,163 cases were recorded, with damages reaching more than 70 billion won. Combined, that amounts to 2,428 cases in less than 18 months.
Online communities for victims are filled with testimonies from people who lost anywhere from a few hundred thousand won to tens of millions, while some have posted about losing their life savings and requiring psychiatric treatment. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
