40s Woman Faces Court Again for Marijuana Smoking... Court Sentences 'Dual Execution Stay'

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] A woman in her 40s, who was previously given a suspended sentence for marijuana smoking, was belatedly brought to trial for a similar offense she committed earlier and was sentenced to another suspended prison term.

According to the legal community on the 1st, the Criminal Division 25-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Seongyoung Ma) sentenced A (49, female), who was indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act (marijuana), to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. The court also ordered a fine of 2.03 million won. The court stated, "The defendant purchased and used marijuana multiple times, which is a serious offense," but added, "Considering the suspended sentence for the previously confirmed violation of the Narcotics Control Act (marijuana), the court took fairness into account when issuing the sentence simultaneously."

Previously, A was indicted in 2019 for smoking marijuana and was sentenced to four months in prison with a one-year suspension in October of that year. During further investigations, the prosecution discovered that A had purchased and smoked 13 grams of marijuana from February to May 2018 and brought her to trial again in May this year. The court viewed the additional charges against A as related offenses under criminal law to the previously confirmed case and thus issued another suspended sentence. From A’s perspective, this means she has received two suspended prison sentences related to marijuana offenses, a so-called "double suspended sentence."

Our criminal law allows for the reduction or exemption of sentences for "subsequent concurrent offenses." The basis is Article 39, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act. It states, "When there is an offense for which a judgment has not been received among concurrent offenses, if the offense and the offense with a confirmed judgment are judged simultaneously, the sentence for that offense shall be imposed considering fairness. In this case, the sentence may be reduced or exempted." For example, if a person convicted this year for stealing two cartons of eggs is later found to have stolen one carton last year and is brought to trial again, the sentence should be imposed considering fairness as if the person was originally charged with stealing three cartons of eggs.