A nightclub manager who was convicted of extorting 300 million won from the late actor Lee Seon-gyun received a prison sentence on appeal in a separate trial on drug use charges.
On the 25th, according to Yonhap News, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 3 (Director General Lee Seung-han) recently sentenced A (31, female), a nightclub manager tried on charges including marijuana and psychotropic drugs under the Narcotics Control Act, to one year in prison, the same as the first instance, and ordered her to complete 40 hours of drug addiction rehabilitation education.
If the sentence is finalized, A will serve an additional one-year prison term on top of the five years and six months already confirmed for the extortion charge against Lee.
The court pointed out, "Crimes related to narcotics are inherently difficult to detect, have a high risk of recidivism, and cause significant harm to the public," adding, "The types and number of times of the narcotics that A received, used or smoked are not small, so the culpability is not light."
Doctor B (44, male), who was indicted on the same charges and sentenced to two years in the first instance, had his sentence reduced on appeal to one year and six months after he was acquitted of the charge of purchasing liquid marijuana in June 2021.
A is a six-time offender with prior drug convictions and was indicted in 2023 on charges of having used or smoked methamphetamine or marijuana three times.
B is accused of having handed methamphetamine, ketamine and other drugs to A three times at locations including a hospital he operated in Gangnam District, Seoul, from December 2022 to August 2023.