Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Arrest 11 'Daelgu' Who Buy Alcohol and Cigarettes for Others... Concerns Over Exposure to Sexual Crimes

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has cracked down on a large number of so-called 'Daelgu' sellers who proxy-purchase harmful substances such as alcohol and cigarettes for youth through social networking services (SNS) like Twitter. The province confirmed that in this process, youths are indiscriminately exposed to the risk of sexual crimes.

Daelgu refers to the act of proxy-purchasing alcohol, cigarettes, etc., on behalf of youths who cannot buy them themselves, for a certain fee.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit reported on the 29th that as proxy-purchasing has shifted from direct transactions to delivery transactions, it has become more widespread. Since January this year, the investigation scope has expanded nationwide, resulting in the arrest of 11 individuals across five cities and provinces, who were sent to the prosecution.

The total amount embezzled as sales fees by these individuals was 5.71 million KRW, and the number of youths involved in transactions reached 1,046. More than half of the 11 sellers, six, were youths themselves.

In one case, 17-year-old high school student A operated a Twitter account for proxy-purchasing electronic cigarettes from May last year, securing 2,405 followers and selling electronic cigarette devices and liquids to youths via delivery 385 times, earning 2.5 million KRW in fees. It was revealed that A used an electronic cigarette sales site that allowed membership without adult verification.

Seller B, who has five prior fraud convictions, created a Twitter account, gathered 1,271 followers, and offered to proxy-purchase alcohol, cigarettes, and adult products for youths nationwide. B was caught after conducting proxy-purchases 120 times by delivering items via courier to youths who requested purchases.

14-year-old middle school student C bought electronic cigarettes through a sales site that allowed membership without adult verification and sold them to peers about 50 times at a premium, leading to her capture in this investigation.

16-year-old D used her parents' names to purchase electronic cigarettes from a sales site and sold them to other youths about 30 times. Another youth seller, 18-year-old E, also sold electronic cigarettes purchased online without adult verification to peers 363 times via delivery, earning 1.5 million KRW in fees.

E was also exposed to the risk of sexual crimes after a male follower who posted nude photos persistently requested to follow her.

Seller F posted videos on Twitter revealing his perverted tendencies and approached female youths with sexual intentions, offering free cigarettes in exchange for worn underwear or socks, but was caught in the crackdown.

Under the current Youth Protection Act, selling or providing harmful substances to youths can result in imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.

Kim Young-soo, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit, emphasized, "This investigation revealed that youths accessing social networking services (SNS), which serve as transaction intermediaries, are exposed to the risk of sexual crimes. We will mobilize all investigative capabilities to do our best in preventing related crimes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.