"56 Doses a Day"... Medical Narcotics Illegal Use Gang Arrested

2 Detained, 40 Referred Without Detention

Forty-two hospital personnel, including doctors who illegally administered the general anesthetic 'Etomidate,' known as the second Propofol, and medical narcotics for non-medical purposes, have been referred to the prosecution. Among those administered were suspects involved in the so-called 'Apgujeong Rolls-Royce' and 'Gangnam Station Lamborghini' cases.

On the 4th, the Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent 16 hospital staff members from two hospitals and 26 recipients to the prosecution on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. Among them, Doctor A, who sexually assaulted multiple women under sedation, and Doctor B, who illegally administered Etomidate, were each sent in custody in January and June, respectively. Additionally, assets worth 1,997,750,000 KRW were seized from Doctors A and B.

Furthermore, the police plan to additionally indict Doctor A on charges of professional negligence causing death. Shin (29), a suspect in the Rolls-Royce case, caused the death of a pedestrian while driving after receiving medical narcotics at Doctor A’s hospital last year.

Medical records created at Mr. A's clinic, with medical narcotics recorded using alphabetic abbreviations. [Image source=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

According to the police, seven hospital staff members, including Doctor A, are suspected of administering four types of sedative narcotics to 28 patients visiting for sedation purposes from August 2022 to November last year.

Police investigations revealed that they illegally administered four types of sedative narcotics a total of 549 times, charging patients between 300,000 and 330,000 KRW per session. For patients unable to pay upfront, they accepted promissory notes and administered narcotics on credit.

Among these patients, five were additionally charged with violating the Road Traffic Act for driving without fully recovering from sedation. The amount illegally earned by Doctor A and hospital staff through these administrations reached 859 million KRW.

Moreover, the group was found to have fabricated medical records under other people's names or falsified administration records to evade inspections by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Hospital staff also altered medical records in preparation for police raids.

A written payment agreement by a visitor at Mr. A's clinic. [Image source=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

The police believe Doctor A abused the exceptional authority granted to physicians in handling narcotics to operate an illegal administration business. Current law imposes aggravated punishment only when doctors administer narcotics for non-medical purposes. This exploits a legal loophole, as aggravated punishment is not stipulated for administering psychotropic drugs for medical purposes.

Doctor B and nine hospital staff members are suspected of administering the general anesthetic Etomidate to 75 patients visiting for sedation purposes from September 2019 to September last year.

The group reportedly charged between 100,000 and 200,000 KRW per administration, administering Etomidate up to 56 times per day. They sold and administered Etomidate a total of 8,921 times and provided sedation locations, earning approximately 1,254,100,000 KRW. Hong (30), a suspect in the Lamborghini case, also received drugs at this clinic.

The police suspect Doctor B exploited the fact that Etomidate is not designated as a narcotic to repeatedly administer it illegally. Unlike Propofol, which is classified as a psychotropic narcotic, Etomidate is designated as a professional pharmaceutical. Therefore, only violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, not the Narcotics Control Act, were applied to Doctor B and the recipients. Recipients are likely to face only fines.

A police official emphasized, "The Road Traffic Act does not specify clear standards for driving prohibition times after using medical narcotics," adding, "There is a need to revise the law by referring to overseas cases." He continued, "Although Etomidate has similar usage and side effects to Propofol, it cannot be managed under the Narcotics Control Act," and stated, "Institutional improvements are necessary to manage this drug at the narcotics level."

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