Gangnam Academy District Drug Drink Main Perpetrator Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison Confirmed

Conspired with Accomplices in China
Extorted Money from Parents After Giving Students the Drink

Supreme Court building. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court upheld the 23-year prison sentence for a man in his 20s who deceived students into drinking a drug-laced beverage, claiming it was a drink that helps improve concentration, in the academy district of Daechi-dong, Gangnam, Seoul.

On the 8th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) announced that it dismissed the appeal of A (27), who was indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances) and other charges, and confirmed the first trial's sentence of 23 years in prison. B (43), who committed the crime together, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison, and C (28) was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation, both sentences confirmed.

The Supreme Court stated, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience, exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterprets the law regarding joint perpetrators," and added, "Even considering the circumstances argued in the grounds for appeal, it cannot be said that maintaining the first trial's sentence of 23 years in prison is grossly unjust."

They are known to have, on April 3, 2023, disguised a tasting event in the academy district of Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, handing over a 'drug beverage' mixed with methamphetamine and milk to 13 minors, falsely claiming it was a 'concentration-enhancing drink.' They were also charged with threatening the parents of the affected students who drank the beverage by saying they would report to the police to extort money.

In particular, the main perpetrator A was investigated to have conspired with accomplices at home and abroad while staying in China after leaving for China in October 2022. The police obtained an Interpol red notice for A and tracked him with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security through the police attach? at the Chinese Embassy.

The Chinese public security arrested A at a hideout in Jilin Province, China, on May 24 last year, and the police forcibly repatriated him through Incheon International Airport in December last year, eight months after the crime.