A YouTuber in his 20s who tattooed a Telegram address for drug sales on his forehead to promote it was sentenced to prison in the first trial.
On the 2nd, Judge Seo Young-woo of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 12 sentenced YouTuber Kim (29), who was charged with violating the Narcotics Control Act, to two years in prison. The court also ordered a provisional payment of a forfeiture of 11,273,310 won.
Kim was indicted on charges of tattooing the phrase "Drug King OO Tele(gram) inquiries" and account information on his forehead to promote a Telegram account for drug sales and receiving money in return.
Kim was found to have tattooed his face after receiving a promotion request from the operator of the Telegram drug sales account.
According to prosecutors, Kim is also charged with conspiring with a person surnamed Kim to receive methamphetamine, posting information related to narcotics, and posting and advertising information related to an illegal gambling site.
Earlier, prosecutors sought two years in prison in May and also requested a provisional payment order for 8.2 million won in forfeiture.
The court found all the charges proven that day. The court cited as a reason for sentencing that "there is a prior record of punishment for similar crimes such as narcotics use." It also found that Kim's culpability was not light in terms of the spread and persistence of the crime.
The court said, "As an online broadcaster with about 12,000 subscribers, the defendant used his influence to post illegal information related to gambling and narcotics."