A man in his 20s who recruited a high school junior to smuggle methamphetamine into South Korea from Cambodia has been sentenced to prison.
The Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 14, presided over by Chief Judge Son Seung-beom, said it sentenced A, 23, to six years in prison. He was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (psychotropic substances).
A was brought to trial on charges of proposing to his high school junior B in November last year, "If you go to Cambodia and bring the goods, I will give you 10 million won," then handing over 2 million won as expenses for the drug smuggling and coordinating the schedule and methods of the crime while communicating with a local drug organization.
Following A's instructions, B departed for Cambodia and received 492.54 grams of methamphetamine worth about 49.254 million won at wholesale prices from a member of a local drug smuggling organization. He then divided it into two plastic bags, vacuum-sealed them, disguised them as "hot packs," hid them in his underwear, and smuggled them into Incheon International Airport, the investigation found.
The court determined that A was not a simple participant but had effectively overseen the crime. The court said, "The defendant played a role in coordinating the overall crime, drawing his high school junior B into the offense, having him depart for Cambodia, and relaying the ringleader's instructions regarding the packaging and concealment methods of the methamphetamine."
It added, "Because drug crimes harm public health and induce additional crimes, causing serious adverse effects on society as a whole, stern punishment is necessary," and ruled, "In light of the defendant's degree of participation, the quantity of methamphetamine, and the concealment method, the nature of the crime is poor, and as he committed the crime during a repeat-offender period, stern punishment commensurate with his culpability is necessary."
However, the court explained that it took into account mitigating circumstances, including that A admitted to the crime in court and that all of the smuggled methamphetamine was seized and did not circulate domestically.
A had previously been sentenced to 10 months in prison for assault in 2023 and served time before being released on parole in November of that year. He committed this crime during the repeat-offender period after his sentence ended, the investigation found.
