Your complete, plain-English guide to understanding and blocking spam calls in Korea — starting with the number everyone's complaining about right now.
What Is 028520726? Why Is It Calling You?
If you've been getting repeated calls from 02-852-0726 lately, you're far from alone. According to TheCall (더콜), one of Korea's most widely used spam number databases, this number has been flagged by thousands of users since late March 2026 — with comments like "7 calls in a single day," "8 calls in two hours," and "5 calls on a Sunday evening." The page for this number, viewed nearly 9,000 times, tells a clear story: this is one of the most disruptive numbers active in Korea right now.
So what exactly is it? The answer, confirmed by multiple user reports on TheCall, is that 028520726 is an ARS (Automated Response System) political opinion poll call, operating ahead of South Korea's 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections on June 3, 2026. The number has been linked to election polling activity in the Daegu area — specifically the Nam-gu (남구) district council race — but its reach extends far beyond Daegu. Because of how Korea's mobile carrier system works, this number — and dozens like it — can land on virtually any registered phone in the country.
Here's the legal mechanism behind why you're receiving these calls. Under Articles 57-8 and 108-2 of South Korea's Public Official Election Act, mobile carriers are permitted to share a virtual version of your phone number — not your real number, but a carrier-generated proxy — with registered political parties and polling organizations. The unit price is set by the National Election Commission at 34.6 won per number per day. In 2024, Korea's three major carriers reportedly earned at least 4.3 billion won (approximately $3.2 million USD) in additional revenue through this channel alone.
You can opt out of having your number shared. But the opt-out process requires you to contact your carrier directly via ARS or their website — and crucially, carriers are only required to post a notice on their website. No text message, no push notification, no direct alert. Unless you were already searching for this information, you almost certainly had no idea the option existed. Most Koreans don't either.
Why Foreigners Get Hit Harder by Spam Calls
For locals, a spam call is an annoyance. For a foreigner in Korea, especially a recent arrival, that same call can create genuine anxiety. You don't know who's calling. You can't tell from the area code whether it's your landlord, your language school, or a government office. The "02" prefix — Seoul's landline code — sounds official enough to make anyone pause.
In practice, foreigners face a set of compounding difficulties that Koreans simply don't deal with. The language barrier is the most obvious one: when a rapid-fire automated Korean voice starts listing candidate names and asking you to press a number, there's no way to identify what's happening unless you already know what an ARS poll sounds like. And because important calls in Korea — from immigration offices, banks, health insurance, and employers — frequently come from unknown numbers without prior notice, most foreigners develop a habit of answering everything, which is exactly the condition that makes spam calls so effective.
There's also the issue of recycled phone numbers. Prepaid SIM cards used by visitors and short-term foreign residents draw from a limited pool of numbers that have often been registered and cancelled multiple times before. A number that previously belonged to a Korean national may still be on subscription lists, marketing databases, or polling registries — meaning your brand-new Korean number arrives pre-loaded with someone else's spam history.
The Spam Call Landscape in Korea Right Now
The scale of the problem in Korea is genuinely staggering, and the numbers from 2025 put it into perspective. According to data from SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile carrier, the company blocked approximately 1.1 billion attempted telecom fraud cases in 2025 — a figure that includes voice spam calls and smishing text messages. Blocked voice spam and voice phishing calls alone reached 250 million, a 119% increase from the previous year. Blocked spam texts reached 850 million, up 22% year-on-year.
On the financial damage side, the picture is even more alarming. According to the Korean National Police Agency, voice phishing losses in Korea surpassed 1.056 trillion won (approximately $718 million USD) in just the first ten months of 2025 — the first time annual losses have crossed the one trillion won threshold. In the first half of 2025 alone, losses reached 642.1 billion won, a record for any six-month period. These figures reflect reported and confirmed fraud cases; the actual volume of attempted spam contact is orders of magnitude higher.
The current election season is making things significantly worse in the short term. With the June 3, 2026 local elections approaching, ARS survey calls have surged across the country. A research report commissioned by the Election Opinion Poll Review Commission found that virtual numbers are currently being provided to polling organizations at up to 30 times the target sample size — meaning that for every person a polling firm actually needs to reach, 30 people receive an unwanted call. Experts and consumer groups have criticized the practice, calling for direct notification to users and a reduction in the volume of numbers provided. As of publication, no policy change has been implemented.
Types of Spam Calls You'll Encounter in Korea
Not all unwanted calls in Korea carry the same level of risk. Knowing the difference between an irritating robocall and an actual criminal attempt matters — especially when you're operating in a second language and can't always parse what you're hearing. The table below maps out the most common call types foreigners encounter, along with what to do in each case.
| Call Type | Typical Number Prefix | What It Sounds Like | Risk Level | What To Do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARS Election Poll | 02, 031, 051 | Recorded Korean voice listing candidate names, asks you to press a key | No financial risk — just annoying | Hang up. Block. Opt out via your carrier. |
| Voice Phishing (보이스피싱) | 02, 010, international | Caller claims to be police, prosecution, immigration, or your bank | Extremely high — financial fraud | Hang up immediately. Call 112 or 1332. |
| Loan / Insurance Spam | 070 (VoIP), 1588, 1600 | Recorded or live Korean voice offering low-interest loans or insurance | Low–medium — personal data risk | Hang up. Block prefix if recurring. |
| Parcel / Delivery Scam | 010, unknown | Text or call claiming a parcel issue; includes a link | High — malware / personal data theft | Never click the link. Delete. Report to 118. |
| Marketing / Promotional | 080, 1544, 070 | Recorded ad for products, services, or events | Very low | Hang up. Text "수신거부" (opt out) to the number. |
| Recycled Number Misdial | 010 (personal mobile) | Someone asks for a person you don't know by name | None | Politely say "wrong number" and hang up. |
The 070 prefix: a quick note
A large number of spam calls in Korea originate from 070 numbers, which are Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) numbers. These are cheap to obtain in bulk and difficult to trace, making them the prefix of choice for domestic spam operations. If you're on a Samsung Galaxy device, you can block all incoming calls starting with 070 directly through your phone's built-in call settings. This single setting eliminates a significant portion of daily spam volume for many users.
Government impersonation: the most dangerous type
For foreigners, one specific scam pattern deserves extra attention. Callers posing as immigration officers, prosecutors, or Korean government officials have increasingly targeted foreign residents, claiming that the recipient has an unpaid fine, a visa irregularity, or a pending deportation order. The calls are designed to create panic — and they work, because a foreign national has every reason to take immigration-related calls seriously. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea has officially stated that no Korean government agency will request personal information, financial transfers, or ARS-based verification over the phone. If you receive such a call, hang up and verify directly with the relevant agency.
Warnings: What You Should Never Do
Most advice about spam calls focuses on what to do. The more important list, from a practical safety standpoint, is what not to do — particularly for foreigners who may be operating under a different set of cultural assumptions about how official institutions communicate.
One pattern that catches foreigners specifically: a caller who speaks English. Scam operations targeting the foreign community in Korea do exist, and receiving a call in fluent English from someone claiming to represent your bank, your visa sponsor, or a Korean government office should increase your suspicion, not reduce it. Legitimate institutions will ask you to visit in person or log in to an official portal — they will not resolve sensitive matters over an unannounced phone call.
Your Step-by-Step Action Guide
Here's what you can actually do — right now — to reduce unwanted calls, look up suspicious numbers, and report fraud if you've already been targeted. Each step works for foreigners regardless of Korean language ability.
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1
Look up the number before calling back. Go to thecall.co.kr (더콜) or search the number on Naver. Both platforms aggregate user-submitted spam reports and will tell you within seconds whether a number has been flagged, how many times, and what category of call it is. This takes ten seconds and eliminates most of the guesswork.
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2
Install a spam-blocking app. Two apps are widely recommended for foreigners: Whoscall (후스콜) and The Call (더콜). Both are available on Android and iOS in English. They connect to live spam databases and display a warning — or auto-block — before the call even connects. Whoscall has particularly strong international number identification, which is useful if you're also receiving overseas scam calls.
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3
Block 070 numbers at the system level. On Samsung Galaxy devices, go to Phone app → Settings → Block numbers → Add a rule to block all numbers beginning with 070. On iPhones, use the Silence Unknown Callers feature (Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers) as a temporary measure, but note this will also silence legitimate unknown callers.
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4
Opt out of election poll calls via your carrier. Contact your mobile carrier — SKT (T전화 app or 1599-0011), KT (olleh.com or 100), or LG U+ (lghellovision.net or 1544-7777) — and request to be removed from the virtual number provision list for election polling. The Korean phrase to use is: "여론조사 가상번호 제공 거부 신청". As of publication this can be done by phone or online. The option is available until polls close on June 3, 2026.
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5
Report spam calls and smishing texts. Forward suspicious texts to 118 (Korea Internet & Security Agency — KISA). For voice phishing or fraud attempts, call 112 (police) or 1332 (Financial Supervisory Service). KISA's 118 line operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and offers consultation in Korean. If you need English assistance, try the Foreigners' Crime Reporting Line at 1345, operated by the Korea Immigration Service.
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6
If you suspect you've been scammed, act within minutes. Call your bank immediately to freeze the account. Then call the police at 112. Korea has a dedicated Joint Financial Fraud Investigation Team (공동수사단) specifically for voice phishing cases. Speed matters — Korean banks can sometimes reverse fraudulent transfers if reported quickly enough. Document everything: call logs, screenshots of texts, and any account activity.
Final Thought
Your phone rings. Unknown number. Seoul area code — 02. You stare at it. Is it your landlord? Immigration? Your bank? You answer.
Silence. Then a recorded voice starts speaking in Korean. Fast Korean. You catch nothing.
That's 028520726. That's the number that has been bombarding phones across Korea since late March 2026 — an ARS political opinion poll tied to the June 3 local elections. Thousands of people have logged complaints. One user reported eight calls in two hours. Another said five calls on a Sunday evening. You are not special. You were not targeted. Your number was pulled from a carrier database and handed to a polling firm, legally, without your direct consent.
Here's the part that catches most foreigners off guard: this is not illegal. Mobile carriers in Korea are permitted under the Public Official Election Act to provide virtual versions of your phone number to registered polling organizations. You can opt out — but only if you know the option exists. And most people, locals included, have no idea.
So what do you do? Don't answer numbers you don't recognize. If you already answered and heard the ARS prompt, just hang up. No personal information was collected from silence. Block the number. Then look it up on thecall.co.kr before the next unknown call catches you off guard.
The calls stop after June 3. Until then, your phone is technically a polling booth whether you like it or not. Know what the call is. Know how to make it stop. That's the whole job.