Seoul: Two men suspected of illegally making micropayments through hacking users of mobile carrier KT Corp. are set to be transferred to the prosecution for further investigation, as confirmed by police on Wednesday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police have announced plans to send the suspects, both Chinese nationals of Korean ethnicity aged 48 and 44, to the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office. They face charges of fraud by use of a computer and other related offenses.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the 48-year-old suspect is accused of executing unauthorized mobile payments by hacking into the phones of KT users. This was allegedly accomplished through the use of an unregistered femtocell, a micro base station, connected to KT's communication network between August 5 and September 5. These unauthorized transactions included purchases of gift certificates and recharging travel cards.

The 44-year-old suspect reportedly converted these unauthorized payments, valued at over 240 million won (approximately US$172,000), into cash. The funds were then transferred to a Chinese account via a money exchange in South Korea. The owner of the money exchange, a Chinese national in their 60s, has also been implicated in the scheme by the police.

During questioning, the 48-year-old suspect allegedly admitted to participating in the scheme for a payment of 5 million won from a yet unidentified mastermind based in China. Both suspects are reportedly unfamiliar with each other and are legally residing in South Korea as daytime workers. They were both apprehended last Tuesday.

The police have stated their intention to collaborate with the science ministry, the Korea Internet and Security Agency, and the private sector to file for a warrant to inspect the femtocell involved.