Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Arrest 5 for Proxy Purchase of Alcohol and Cigarettes for Youth

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Five suspects involved in 'proxy purchasing,' providing alcohol and cigarettes to teenagers and receiving sales commissions, were caught by the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit. Among the five suspects, four were minors, and it was found that they had transactions with over 1,000 teenagers.

The Gyeonggi Province Fair Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 19th that from July to early December, they tracked suspects through social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter, where 'proxy purchasing' mainly occurs, and apprehended five suspects who were then sent to the prosecution.

The suspects promoted and sold harmful substances to teenagers, such as e-cigarettes and cigarettes, through social networking services (SNS). The total amount embezzled as sales commissions was 2.75 million KRW, and the number of teenagers involved in transactions was counted at 1,081.

Among the sellers caught this time, four out of five were minors. They registered on internet sales sites using the names of others, such as their parents, purchased e-cigarettes, and sold them to peers who were also minors.

In one case, a university student, Ms. A (20 years old), operated a Twitter account for proxy purchasing of e-cigarettes since March this year, securing about 3,000 followers and selling e-cigarette devices and liquids to teenagers via delivery over about 1,000 transactions, receiving 2 million KRW in commissions.

Ms. B (14 years old), who dropped out of middle school this spring, registered on an e-cigarette sales site under her mother's name, purchased cigarettes, and was caught proxy purchasing by delivering them via parcel to peers about 20 times.

High school student Ms. C (18 years old) was caught selling cigarettes to peers about 20 times since September this year, receiving commissions. Notably, Ms. C targeted only small neighborhood convenience stores that did not strictly verify identification to purchase cigarettes.

Suspect Ms. D (16 years old) also used her grandmother's name to purchase e-cigarettes online and sold them about 30 times to the same group of teenagers.

Ms. E (15 years old) sold cigarettes to peers at a premium since August this year, showing meticulousness by having a middle school friend as an accomplice, sharing roles such as promotion and delivery.

Under the current 'Youth Protection Act,' selling or providing harmful substances such as alcohol and cigarettes to teenagers can result in imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.

Kim Min-heon, head of the Gyeonggi Province Fair Special Judicial Police Unit, emphasized, "The investigation revealed that the number of minor proxy purchasing sellers motivated by curiosity and pocket money is increasing, with the age dropping to middle school students. We will focus not only on apprehending criminals but also on strengthening publicity about violations of the Youth Protection Act targeting minors to prevent crimes."

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