Cheongdam-dong doctors drugged patients for profit, filmed them while unconscious

Police have arrested two doctors who operated clinics in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, illegally administering narcotics to patients under the guise of sedation and committing sex crimes against anesthetized patients. The two earned about 500 million won ($340,000) in criminal proceeds from the illegal drug administration.

Doctor A, in his 40s, faces charges beyond propofol dealing — he is also accused of illegally filming sedated patients. His business partner, Doctor B, in his 50s, is reportedly continuing to practice medicine while under investigation without detention.

Kang Seon-bong, chief of the drug crime investigation team at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit, told a briefing held Friday at the unit's office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, that police had arrested 14 drug offenders — including two doctors — on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act for illegally administering medical narcotics to patients seeking sedation and committing sex crimes against anesthetized patients.

Doctor A, who also committed sex crimes, was taken into custody on July 9. Police referred the two doctors and a clinic administrator to prosecutors on July 16, then forwarded the remaining 11 people — including those who received the illegal drugs — to prosecutors Friday.

The two arrested doctors cast aside medical ethics and used narcotics purely as a money-making tool. Their combined criminal proceeds totaled 457 million won. Police have also applied for pre-indictment forfeiture of their illegal earnings.

Doctor A, who committed sex crimes on top of illegally administering medical narcotics, ran a propofol operation out of his clinic for two years starting in November 2021. He charged seven patients seeking sedation 350,000 won per session, administering propofol and other drugs across 71 sessions to earn 40 million won.

On top of that, Doctor A is also accused of illegally filming the bodies of sedated patients 27 times over several months beginning in July 2021. Police applied additional charges of quasi-forcible indecent act and violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes — specifically the provision on filming using cameras.

He exploited the vulnerability of patients under sedation and the clinic's private-room layout to carry out the sex crimes. Police believe he undressed victims in order to film them.

Doctor A denied the charges of illegal filming and other sex crimes, but police obtained an arrest warrant based on objective evidence secured during the investigation and detained him.

Police conveyed to relevant government agencies the need for regulatory reform — specifically, making a "chaperone system" mandatory to close blind spots for crime in medical settings. The system would restrict solo treatment by medical personnel during sedation procedures and require a third party, such as a nurse, to be present at all times.

Doctor B, the business partner, was investigated without detention and continues to practice. He focused on illegal propofol dealing, administering propofol, midazolam, remimazolam and ketamine to eight patients across 111 sessions over roughly a year from July 2022 to June 2023, earning 417 million won.

The two doctors operated around the clock to carry out the illegal administrations. When patients requested it, they provided drugs outside business hours — late at night or on holidays. Police said the 350,000-won fee they charged per session was about 31.7 times the actual cost of the drugs.

As the doctors opened the door to illegal drug use, patients fell into severe addiction. One patient paid as much as 13.5 million won in a single day, and another was found to have spent 13 hours at the clinic under the influence. In one particularly serious case, a heavily addicted patient visited 64 times over 11 months, paying 253 million won in total.

While running the illegal operation, the two doctors deliberately concealed records to evade regulatory scrutiny. They kept no medical records at all for patients receiving illegal drugs and failed to fulfill their mandatory reporting obligations for controlled substances.

To keep patients sedated for extended periods while avoiding detection, they mixed the sedatives dexmedetomidine hydrochloride (dexmedetomidine) and etomidate with medical narcotics before administering them.

Investigators said this case marks the first time dexmedetomidine has been found to be misused as a substitute for controlled narcotics. The drug shares in effect the same active ingredient as medetomidine, a veterinary anesthetic that has recently been flagged as a candidate for classification as a controlled substance. Police have asked the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to conduct an expedited review of the drug, including possible designation as a controlled narcotic.

A police official said sedative-class narcotics are being widely abused for non-medical purposes, and that even general anesthetics not yet classified as controlled substances are increasingly being misused as tools to evade enforcement.

The official added that proactive regulatory review by relevant authorities on similar drugs is urgently needed, and that police will continue to rigorously investigate illegal handling of narcotics carried out covertly within the medical community, as well as serious crimes committed using such substances.