Who are injection aunties? A cure for hangovers, a symptom of regulatory blind spots.
Published: 17 Dec. 2025, 18:47
Updated: 19 Dec. 2025, 16:40
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- LEE JIAN
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Comedian Park Na-rae, left, and a self-proclaimed doctor who allegedly gave IV drips to Park [JOONGANG ILBO, SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/19/efa13f0d-a45f-4384-9d48-2bbb13530fe1.jpg)
Comedian Park Na-rae, left, and a self-proclaimed doctor who allegedly gave IV drips to Park [JOONGANG ILBO, SCREEN CAPTURE]
Korea’s medical industry, which drew over 1.17 million tourists last year, is known for its speed, affordability and accessibility, with IV drips and cosmetic injections commonplace aspects of wellness culture.
From hangover cures and fatigue recovery to skin-brightening injections, many treatments are readily available at neighborhood clinics. Patients can often walk in without an appointment, receive an IV infusion and leave within an hour — typically for around 50,000 won ($34).
But the convenience that has fueled Korea’s reputation as a global hub for medical treatments has also exposed regulatory blind spots. Those gaps have come under renewed scrutiny following a recent scandal involving comedian Park Na-rae that has cast a critical eye on medical practices conducted outside official medical establishments.
The 40-year-old entertainer is alleged to have received beauty-related and fatigue-recovery injections and IV drips as well as antidepressants at her home, allegedly administered by individuals known colloquially as "injection aunties."
Who are 'injection aunties'?
![A closeup on a female medical doctor in white medical robe with a syringe and a money pack against grey background [GETTY IMAGES BANK]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/19/ff828eaa-36cd-4f77-baa2-8434217e1a7b.jpg)
A closeup on a female medical doctor in white medical robe with a syringe and a money pack against grey background [GETTY IMAGES BANK]
In director Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 crime thriller “Memories of Murder,” late actor Jeon Mi-seon plays a retired nurse living in 1980s Gyeonggi, just outside Seoul. She administers injections for sick neighbors at their homes while listening to local gossip, relaying what she hears to her detective lover, played by Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho.
Jeon’s character is a classic example of individuals widely known as injection aunties. They are typically women in their 50s or 60s who have past experience as nurses or nurse’s aides and illegally administer injections or medications outside medical institutions for small sums of money.
Injection aunties were relatively common in Korea during the 1970s and 1980s, when there were looser regulations on pharmaceuticals and fewer medical facilities.
While their presence has declined since the 2000s, they have not disappeared entirely, evidently.
One woman who has been mentioned in connection with Park’s case acknowledged that she does not hold a medical license and said she had previously worked at a hospital. She also said that she administered medication in exchange for money without authorization, though she claimed to have stopped doing so “a long time ago.”
Another injection auntie suspected of treating Park said she had graduated from a medical school in China, but authorities have been unable to verify the existence of the institution. She has since ceased posting on social media, where she previously shared her claims. Both have denied any direct involvement with Park.
Injection aunties today are found advertising their services online, including through Instagram accounts or posts on online communities.
They have also surfaced in news reports over the years. In 2017, for example, former President Park Geun-hye was found to have called an injection auntie to the Blue House. When questioned by reporters, Park said, “Because I was tired, I didn’t find it appropriate to call a doctor every time I needed an injection.”
One auntie was later called to court in April 2017, where she testified that she had previously worked as a nurse aide and had injected the former president with various substances for dermatological purposes. She added that after administering the injections to Park’s abdomen and arm and removing the needles about an hour later, an administrative officer handed her an envelope containing 100,000 won.
In October 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, a cluster infection linked to so-called house call injections became a public issue as well.
Experts point to several channels through which the drugs are obtained by potentially illegal means, including rebate schemes and non-face-to-face prescriptions acquired under another person’s identity.
Legal repercussions for Park?
![In this scene from a Dec. 13, 2024, episode of the MBC television variety show ″I Live Alone″ (2013-), comedian Park Na-rae casually mentions booking IV drips with singer-songwriter Jung Jae-hyung while making kimchi together. The clip on YouTube has since been removed. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/19/9fd8f622-ecf8-4cd5-bff2-a3d2c58fa2ab.jpg)
In this scene from a Dec. 13, 2024, episode of the MBC television variety show ″I Live Alone″ (2013-), comedian Park Na-rae casually mentions booking IV drips with singer-songwriter Jung Jae-hyung while making kimchi together. The clip on YouTube has since been removed. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
While house calls are not strictly illegal, both the medical community and the ministry have raised concerns that Park’s circumstances may constitute violations of medical law. Police have since launched an official investigation into the case, examining allegations of unlicensed medical practice and potential violations of medical and narcotics regulations.
Under Korean law, unlicensed individuals who perform medical acts may face up to five years in prison or fines of up to 50 million won, while patients who acquire and use medications obtained through illegal channels are subject to criminal penalties.
Park’s side allegedly requested a house call from a doctor and nurse from a hospital she regularly visits because it was difficult for her to attend in person, insisting that the procedures posed no legal issues.
However, medical treatment conducted outside licensed medical institutions can still be illegal, even when administered by licensed professionals.
Article 33 of the Medical Service Act restricts medical treatment to licensed medical institutions, allowing exceptions only in strictly defined circumstances such as emergencies, home nursing care or other unavoidable situations. Cosmetic injections, fatigue-recovery IV drips and the administration of psychotropic drugs do not fall under these exceptions.
An official from the Health Ministry said Park’s procedures could therefore constitute a violation of the Medical Service Act.
“Medical treatment is, in principle, required to be carried out within a medical institution, except in cases such as emergency patients,” the official said. “Even if a house call was made at the patient’s request, it must be examined whether the medical practice complied with legally required procedures, such as the preparation of medical records and the issuance of prescriptions. If these procedures were not followed, there may be grounds for a violation.”
BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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