Seven men were caught after intentionally causing car crashes with drunken drivers in an attempt to demand money, police said Thursday.

Seocho Police Station in Seoul said that the seven men, all in their 20s, are facing charges of causing intentional car accidents and blackmailing drunken drivers for compensation.

When their demands were refused, they threatened to report the victims to the police. 


The group is accused of extorting around 1.2 million won, or $1,000 worth of cash from victims in four separate cases since October 2015.

The suspects, all of whom were out of work, learned their tactics online news and from related scams, police said.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)