KARD was formed in the aftermath of Kim Minhyuk's death, the original leader of ATEEZ, in 1967. A few families affiliated with ATEEZ, broke off from the gang, greedy for more power, more control over their territories and a larger cut of the profits they brought.

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At the head of this rebellion was Kim Oh-seong - a higher associate of ATEEZ - and when Bong-hwa dismissed the demands that he brought forth, he took the Jeon family and established the rival gang KARD. Other families, dissatisfied with ATEEZ's "rule", or desperate to get back at them (for whatever reason), joined Oh-seong, causing his newly forged gang to grow in size.

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The struggle for power with ATEEZ was brutal - and following the initial split, they suffered great losses. Bong-hwa made sure of that. From then on, the rift between the two gangs only seemed to increase. Oh-seong died of natural causes in 1979 and leadership of KARD fell to his son, Youngjae, who was still green, and not a day older than twenty. Under his leadership, the gang continued to prosper, bringing more profits, but more hostility from ATEEZ. Their most lucrative business was narcotics - Oh-seong had taken some of the secrets of brewing these drugs from ATEEZ when he left and over the years they had perfected them.

 

In 1998, Bong-hwa at the behest of his son, Ji-hun, forged a deal with KARD, and the then leader, Youngjae. The two gangs agreed to split the territories of Falls Bay: the centre of town with the casinos for ATEEZ, the outskirts and the schools for KARD.

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But with the success of KARD's narcotics business, Bong-hwa grew frustrated, discontent with the mediocre profits that ATEEZ was bringing in from its own drug runs. It was undeniable that KARD had taken the better location (for drugs, that is) in the deal, and Bong-hwa wanted more. An attempt to renegotiate the deal fell through, leading to both Youngjae and his oldest son Michael's death.

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What could have been salvaged between the rival mobs became a relentless revenge-killing that gripped Falls Bay in a perpetual terror throughout most of the early 2000s. ATEEZ managed to force KARD back to the East side of town and for several years after 2009, they appeared to have been kept at bay...but appearances could be deceiving.

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Select the drop-down menu to read more about individual members of the gang.