The Manager Who Gave a "Hangover Cure"... The Acquaintance Involved in 'Drug-Related Sexual Crime' Is Even More Frightening

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An analysis revealed that drug-facilitated sexual crimes most frequently occur within acquaintances.

On the 14th, according to the police authorities, Kim Jung-gon, an assistant professor in the Department of Police Administration at Keimyung University, published a paper in the academic journal Police Science Review analyzing 41 first-instance verdicts of drug-facilitated sexual crimes that occurred between 2022 and 2023.

Drug-facilitated sexual crimes refer to offenses where the perpetrator actively administers drugs to the victim to incapacitate them before committing the crime.

Out of the 41 verdicts, 40 involved a single perpetrator. One case involved two people conspiring to commit the crime. All perpetrators were male, and there were a total of 56 victims. There were also two cases where the victim was male.

There were 35 victims who suffered crimes from acquaintances, more than twice the 17 victims from first-time meetings. Among acquaintances, the largest group of victims (10) were those over whom the perpetrator held a superior position. There were cases where a workplace superior mixed drugs into a female employee’s drink during a company dinner or gave drugs under the pretense of a "sobering medicine" after taking her into a car, then committed sexual crimes.

In cases where the crime occurred during a first meeting, 7 victims met the perpetrator through dating apps for the purpose of dating, and 6 met at clubs.

Professor Kim cited the 2022 crime analysis by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, pointing out that in general sexual violence crimes, 64.7% of cases involve perpetrators and victims who are strangers. Cases involving neighbors or acquaintances accounted for only 12.2%.

He added, "Compared to general sexual violence crimes, drug-facilitated sexual crimes relatively often occur within relationships with acquaintances, and incidents related to victims’ lifestyles such as meetings for entertainment purposes constitute only a portion of the cases."

The drug most frequently used in the crimes was zolpidem (26 cases), primarily used as a sleeping pill. Methamphetamine (Philopon) ranked second with 7 cases. Professor Kim also noted the possibility of covert crimes using drugs with very short retention times in the body, such as GHB, commonly known as 'mulppong.'

Perpetrators mostly obtained drugs either through prescriptions for insomnia or depression treatment (11 cases) or by purchasing online or through other means (5 cases), then secretly administered them to victims by mixing them into alcohol or beverages.

Regarding this, Professor Kim emphasized the need to introduce the methods of drug-facilitated sexual crimes to the public and systematically guide countermeasures.

He explained, "The U.S. Department of Justice produces and distributes easy-to-understand booklets for the general public that explain the concept of drug-facilitated sexual crimes, the types and characteristics of commonly used drugs, and how to respond when suspicious situations arise." He added, "Such public education not only raises awareness among potential victims but also helps them establish self-defense strategies and increases the sense of guilt among potential perpetrators."

Furthermore, he added, "It is necessary to strengthen the management of psychotropic drugs that have abuse concerns and actively crack down on possession, use, and distribution of narcotics."

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