Doctor who illegally administered medical narcotics to more than 100 people receives final prison sentence
Published: 15 Apr. 2026, 14:06
![Medical narcotics seized by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s drug crime investigation unit from a clinic in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/15/a5eb6a23-c518-4b9a-b516-55e53e070728.jpg)
Medical narcotics seized by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s drug crime investigation unit from a clinic in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]
A doctor who illegally administered medical narcotics to more than 100 people — including former professional baseball player Oh Jae-won — and collected about 4.14 billion won ($2.81 million) has received a final prison sentence, according to legal sources on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision sentencing the doctor, identified only by the surname Noh, to four years in prison, a 5 million won fine and forfeiture of about 4.14 billion won on charges including violations of the Narcotics Control Act involving psychotropic substances.
Noh was indicted on charges of administering narcotics such as propofol and remimazolam — both sleep-inducing anesthetics — 3,073 times to 105 visitors at a clinic operated in Cheongdam-dong, a neighborhood in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, from January 2021 to July 2024. Noh and other staff charged between 200,000 won and 300,000 won per injection and administered the drug through procedures that did not require anesthesia
A significant number of those who received the injections were addicted to propofol.
Noh was also found to have provided free injections under the pretext of special occasions, such as birthdays or being released from prison. Some patients were administered psychotropic drugs as many as 15 to 20 times in a single day, investigators found.
Former baseball player Oh, who served a prison sentence for drug use in 2024, and a civilian surnamed Hong, who was sentenced to prison for threatening another person with a weapon during a parking dispute in 2023 and was found to have been under the influence of drugs at the time, were among the clinic’s clients.
![Hospital records of drug usage [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/15/d725d4a2-677e-47a3-8940-f7e23fd76d22.jpg)
Hospital records of drug usage [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]
Additional charges against the doctor include failing to report drug administration records in the Narcotics Information Management System in an attempt to evade law enforcement, falsely reporting that drugs were administered to individuals who had not received them and inflating dosages for patients who underwent legitimate procedures.
Noh is also accused of failing to maintain medical records and of personally administering propofol.
The first trial court sentenced Noh to four years in prison, a fine of 5 million won, a forfeiture of 4.14 billion won and the completion of 40 hours of a drug rehabilitation education program.
“The defendant gradually increased the number of administrations, leading to propofol addiction,” the court stated in its first ruling. “The operation was systematically structured [...] including separating hospital phone lines between general patients and those seeking sleep-inducing procedures.”
However, the court acquitted Noh of charges related to the sale of psychotropic drugs, determining that the substances were not transferred in ownership but administered as part of medical procedures using drugs under the doctor’s control.
The appellate court and the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion.
“Even if a medical professional administers psychotropic substances for nonmedical purposes, it cannot be regarded as the sale of such substances unless it is under special circumstances,” the Supreme Court stated.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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