"Apgujeong Box Woman" Used Drugs Even During Police Investigation...Another Guilty Verdict

Charges of Purchasing and Using Narcotics

A woman in her 20s who was previously convicted for walking around a busy commercial district wearing only a cardboard box and encouraging passersby to touch her body has now received a suspended sentence on drug charges.

According to Yonhap News on February 10, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 2 Single-Judge Bench (Presiding Judge Cho Youngmin) sentenced a woman surnamed Lee, who was charged with violating the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances), to two years in prison, suspended for four years, and ordered her to forfeit 1.84 million won. The court also ordered three years of probation and 40 hours of drug treatment education.

Mr. Lee, in his 20s, who was previously given a suspended sentence on charges of public indecency. Screenshot from YouTube

Lee was indicted in June 2024 on charges of purchasing the narcotic ketamine on five occasions, and administering methamphetamine and ketamine on two occasions and one occasion, respectively. On this, the court stated, "Drug-related crimes cause serious harm, including damaging public health, and carry a high risk of recidivism, so strict punishment is necessary," adding, "The defendant handled narcotics multiple times and, while under police investigation, went on to handle another type of narcotic."

However, the court explained the reasons for sentencing by saying, "She admitted to the offenses from the investigative stage, and she had no prior criminal record up until committing the offenses in this case," and, "There is no indication that she purchased drugs for any other purpose, and this case is in a concurrent-offense relationship with crimes for which a judgment has already become final, so we must consider parity with the sentence that would have been imposed had they been adjudicated together." She was acquitted of the ketamine administration charge due to insufficient proof of the crime.

In October 2023, Lee walked around busy areas such as Apgujeong and Hongdae in Seoul and encouraged passersby to touch parts of her body, and for this charge of public indecency she was sentenced in the appellate court in September last year to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. At the time, footage of Lee walking around the busy districts spread on YouTube and other social networking services (SNS), and she became known as the "Apgujeong Box Woman."