University drug ring shatters Korea's 'drug-free' myth

Prosecutors recently arrested dozens of university students for the mass use and trafficking of illegal drugs within a social club comprising hundreds of members from 13 universities in the Seoul metropolitan area, raising a red flag in what was once known as a "drug-free country."

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office arrested four university students, including the club's president, and charged two others with violating drug laws on Monday. Eight college students were granted deferred prosecution with conditions of drug addiction treatment.

The club president is also accused of assaulting his girlfriend multiple times, threatening to film and distribute sex videos, and falsely accusing a cryptocurrency launderer who tried to report him of buying and selling drugs.

According to the prosecution's investigation, a graduate of Yonsei University and a master's student at KAIST started a social club in 2021. He gathered so-called "insas," a Korean term for well-off university students, and lured them the members could "use luxury cars and hotels, and enter music festivals for free or at low prices" once they joined the club.

He used the profits from selling drugs to throw lavish parties at luxury hotels and attracted college students to join the club, which grew to 300 members in a short period.

The members reportedly included many students from prestigious universities such as Seoul National University and Korea University, as well as those preparing to enter medical and pharmacy schools. Students preparing to take the Legal Education Eligibility Test to join law schools were also included.

The president selected the members carefully, conducting interviews personally. He based their acceptance on looks, what school they went to and even their family background. He managed the club like a formal organization, creating the club by jockeys, and preparing an apartment in Seoul that served as a "hideout."

In December 2022, the president allegedly began to engage in group drug activities in earnest. At first, the club started with drinking alcohol, then the president offered liquid cannabis. He then increased the intensity with ketamine, psilocybin (hallucinogenic mushrooms), and crystal meth.

The club members are accused of taking drugs en masse at hotels, clubs and amusement parks, more than 10 times. The president also invited the male members to a luxury hotel suite, where they mingled with sex workers and had group sex while taking drugs. The group even carried LSD, a psychotropic drug, in their carry-on luggage to Thailand, Jeju, and other countries to enjoy drugs.

At first, the group was a social club, but later it became a full-fledged drug distribution organization, prosecutors said.

The president and executives of the club jointly purchased drugs from Telegram drug dealers for about 100,000 won ($73) each and then sold them to their club members at a markup of 150,000 to 200,000 won per piece.

He bought more than $12 million worth of drugs in virtual currency last year alone, but prosecutors believe the amount of drugs traded in hard-to-trace direct deposit cash and laundered coins is likely to be much bigger.

Members told prosecutors that the president took control of the organization by filming the members taking drugs and later blackmailing them, or by isolating members in small groups to prevent them from sharing information.

Prosecutors are also considering applying the criminal organization law, given the possibility that they were linked to large drug organizations outside the country.

The fact that they formed an organization, including a presidency, planning department, human resources department, design department, accounting department and public relations department, and distributed tasks, organized events such as orientation and created a form of discipline is believed to meet the requirements for a criminal organization.