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 a.