A key suspect in a drug scam that targeted students in Seoul’s cram school district of Gangnam has been indicted.

According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Wednesday, the 26-year-old suspect identified by the surname Lee was indicted on charges of profiting on drug distribution to minors.

Under the law, those convicted of providing or administering drugs to minors for a profit could face the death penalty, life imprisonment or a minimum ten-year prison term.

Lee is accused of scheming with accomplices in the country and overseas to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine-laced beverages to teenage students in Seoul's Daechi neighborhood last April, claiming that the drinks enhanced memory and concentration.

The group is also suspected of extorting the parents of students who ingested the beverage through blackmail.

After an Interpol red notice was issued against Lee, he was apprehended by Chinese authorities last May before being extradited to South Korea last month.

Four of Lee's accomplices, including one identified by the surname Gil, were sentenced to up to 15 years for similar charges.