A group of criminals involved in telephone-based financial scams was found guilty for the first time of organizing and committing crimes as a crime syndicate.

The Daegu District Court handed down a six-year jail term to a 28-year-old Lee, who held a managerial position in the group, convicting him of opening call centers in China and South Korea and systematically making random calls to South Korean citizens to swindle money.

Two others, surnamed Moon and Won, were also given five years and four years and half behind the bars, respectively, for their roles in managing the syndicate.

The three and 32 others involved were indicted on charges of siphoning some 1.34 billion won ($1.1 million) from over 300 victims between February 2012 and September 2013.

They fooled the victims by saying they would help them get loans with better credit ratings and demanded cash cards with the account number and password written on them.

Then, the group convinced the victims to transfer money to the account, saying it was necessary for the process.

The group was found to have delegated different roles based on teams, such as a team in charge of obtaining the cash cards and a team focused on withdrawing money.

"Considering the committed crimes were done systematically with hierarchical order within the group, the crime syndicate charge can be applied," Judge Yeom Kyung-ho said.

The judge pointed out the group members had a common goal to swindle money, didn't have the freedom to leave the group, and had their own punishment system, explaining why it could be deemed a crime syndicate.

The ruling is the first of its kind for a phone-based scam group. Previously, only fraud charges were applied.

As they are now acknowledged as a crime syndicate, just by joining the group or cooperating with it, a person can receive a criminal penalty.

A total of 35,859 voice phishing cases occurred in 2014, compared with 22,351 recorded in 2012, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. (Yonhap)