12 caught for buying alcohol, cigarettes for minors

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By Jung Da-min

A Gyeonggi Provincial Government special investigation team said Tuesday that it had caught 12 people buying cigarettes and alcohol for minors in return for a so-called “errand fee.”

This type of proxy purchasing is a widely publicized method on Twitter and other social media showing teenagers how to get access to adults-only products.

The provincial government said the 12 were caught after an investigation was launched in May last year, and their cases have been sent to the prosecution for indictment.

Among them, one person provided cigarettes and other restricted products to minors including middle school students on about 360 occasions between last August and late January. The person had already been prosecuted for the same crime, but then continued to purchase the goods for minors using a dedicated Twitter account with about 1,700 followers.

Another adult, who committed the same offence on over 350 occasions from July to October last year, informed the children of how they could receive parcel deliveries without their parents finding out, and even offered a “discount,” so the minors would reuse her “service.”

The 12 indicted suspects included four teenagers. Of them, a 16-year-old girl allegedly used the ID of an adult fraudulently to purchase cigarettes and alcohol, which she provided to other teenagers on about 200 occasions. Another 15-year-old girl was caught buying e-cigarettes online by using her parents' names and reselling them to other teenagers on 100 occasions.

The payment they received was a mere 1,000 won ($0.87) to 4,000 won per case, as the clients ― mostly middle and high schoolers ― did not have much money.

Under the relevant law, those who purchase and provide age-restricted substances to minors are subject to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.

The local government said minors buying tobacco or alcohol through such illegal means could be exposed to other forms of criminal behavior, such as sex crimes, citing the case of an adult who kept in contact with a female high school student who he bought goods for.

“It is not easy to crack down on such illegal proxy purchasing cases because they are made secretly through social media channels such as Twitter or KakaoTalk's open group chats,” said Kim Young-soo, who led the investigation. “We are planning to expand the probe based on the strict principle of zero tolerance, as minors who use such illegal services are exposed to a high risk of secondary crimes such as sexual offenses.”