The Roundup: No Way Out The Japanese Yakuza Drug Case(True Story)

The upcoming 2023 South Korean film The Roundup 3 is based on a true story of a Japanese Yakuza drug case that took place in South Korea. Let's take a look at this case.

Yakuza drug trafficking case

1.The real-life events of Part 3 of The Roundup: No Way Out are actually multiple.

The Roundup: No Way Out is likely to be set against several drug cases involving Japanese Yakuza smuggling or selling drugs through South Korea. According to official information, the protagonist, Ma Seok-do, will be transferred from his current workplace to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to investigate the case. The film is likely to merge several cases and reconstruct them, as there have been several drug cases related to Yakuza in Korea. This is not a new thing, as the first part of The Roundup was also composed of two or more cases.

2. The most representative Japanese Yakuza drug cases in Korea

① 2007 Yamaguchi-gumi drug smuggling case

In October 2007, 18 Koreans were arrested on charges of smuggling large amounts of methamphetamine from China. At the time, the amount of methamphetamine seized was 2.24kg, with a street value of 750 million won. This was a huge amount for an individual drug smuggling case, and the case attracted attention. Later, during the investigation of this case, it was revealed that the 18 Koreans were connected to the Yamaguchi-gumi, a Japanese Yakuza group. This case was a major case that first revealed that drugs in Korea were being imported by Japanese large organizations.

②2013 Inagawa-kai drug case

In May 2013, a Korean and a Japanese man were arrested for smuggling methamphetamine into Incheon International Airport and then trying to transport it to Japan through Busan Port. This case was different from previous cases in that the drugs were not intended to be sold in Korea, but rather to be transported to Japan. Some of the drugs were reportedly sold in Korea, but the main purpose was to smuggle them into Japan. At the time, there were not many drug cases in Korea, so this case was a major event because it exploited this fact and used Korea as a drug smuggling hub. The amount of methamphetamine seized was a whopping 6.24kg.

③2018 case of the Taiwanese Bamboo Union and the Japanese Inagawa-kai

In 2018, a large amount of methamphetamine was smuggled into Korea, setting off a huge fire. The amount of methamphetamine seized was 112kg, which was the largest amount of drugs ever seized in a single incident in Korea. Some of the drugs were reportedly sold in Korea. The investigation revealed that Japanese Yakuza were involved in the case, which made headlines for a while.

3.What if a single event sets the scene?

"The Roundup: No Way Out", but the most likely incident is the "Taiwan Zhulianbang and Japan Inagawakai Incident" in 2018. This incident was the largest amount of drugs smuggled into Korea in a single incident, and it involved organizations from three countries, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, which can provide a rich story as a material for movies. This incident also occurred relatively recently and is remembered by many people. However, some people argue that the 2018 incident is too recent because the "The Roundup: No Way Out" series dealt with the 2000s and 2010s. They argue that the series' third film will deal with the Inagawakai drug case in 2013.

The reason why this incident is considered the most likely incident to be the background of "The Roundup: No Way Out" is because it is famous for being the largest amount of drugs smuggled into Korea in a single incident, and because it involves organizations from three countries, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, which can provide a richer story as a material for movies.

Another reason why this incident is attracting attention is that it is a major incident that many people remember to some extent because it occurred relatively recently. In addition, the fact that Ma Seok-do moved to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Team's Drug Investigation Unit, and that the stories of the "The Roundup: No Way Out" series that have been dealt with so far have dealt with the early 2000s and early 2010s, suggest that this incident is suitable in terms of timing.

However, there are also counterarguments. This is because 2018 is too close to the present in terms of timing, and the "The Roundup: No Way Out" series is already being planned up to 8 episodes. If the 2018 incident is dealt with, it will lead to the question of where the remaining 5 or more stories will be found. As a result, some people say that the 2013 Inagawakai drug case, which occurred slightly earlier than the incident, will be the main background.

4. Highly anticipated work 

"The Roundup: No Way Out" series, which has been continuously successful in the box office based on real-life incidents that occur in Korea and abroad. Although we do not know yet what the specific real-life incident is, considering the box office success of the previous movie series, this movie is also a very anticipated work. Considering that it is a work that came back with a new series in a very short period of time after its release in 2022, I expect that it will be enjoyed together with the aftertaste of the previous work.