By Kim Se-jeong
The veterinary drug which got the conservative presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo in trouble was a stimulant.
The main component was yohimbine extracted from a tree found in Central Africa. The extract has been studied for use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction but was not used due to side effects, according to experts.
In a memoir published 12 years ago, Hong wrote that together with his 18-year-old friends, he attempted to get the chemical for his roommate who wanted to drug a female student.
“One of my boarding house mates asked me and others to buy him an aphrodisiac powder ahead of a school outing. He mixed the powder into a coed’s beer but failed to bring her to bed. Thereafter we argued over the medicinal effects of the powder. I did it for fun at that time, but after becoming a prosecutor, I realized how serious the act was.”
It’s unclear how Hong and his friends got the animal drug. “Now, the drug requires a prescription, but back in the 1970s, it was much easier to get,” an anonymous official from the Korean Veterinary Medical Association said.
The book’s claim drew many women to accuse him of attempted rape. Women’s rights organizations criticized Hong for abetting attempted rape. In a Sunday debate, the four other presidential contenders accused him repeatedly and urged him to drop out of the race. Sim Sang-jung from the Justice Party openly boycotted his presence at the debate.
Among the anti-Hong voters is a woman surnamed Bae, who shared on Facebook her own humiliating experience of consuming the drug in front of male teenagers.
With the title, “I’ve tried it,” Bae, who is now in her 30s, recalled her experience when she was 17: “When I got there (the home of her male friend), other male students were there drinking alcohol and smoking. No adults were around.
“They offered me a can of Ssaegssaegee (an orange-flavored drink). I said I didn’t like the drink, but they insisted that I drink it. The juice can looked suspicious because the lid was dotted with another yellow liquid. I resisted for 20 minutes before drinking it.
“I felt like throwing up. It was bitter. I noticed all the boys looking at me. They asked me how I felt. Right then, the (male) friend who brought me there asked me to leave (saving my life) and I did so. Outside, he told me what I had drunk was an aphrodisiac.”
Her post went viral on Facebook. The story was picked up by the Huffington Post Korea.
“Some women thanked me for speaking out on their behalf. This is the reality facing women in Korea,” she said in a video clip posted later on Facebook.
Yet, Hong still has enough supporters who claim the scandal should be treated as mischievous behavior committed by a sexually active teenager. “For boys at that age, it was a normal thing to do,” one Facebook user replied to Hong’s posting.
“What he did (revealing that in the book) showed courage in him and therefore should be praised, not criticized,” another wrote. “To men who criticize Hong, I would say this: let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”