"Difficulty Adapting to South Korea..." North Korean Defector Woman Sentenced to Prison for Drug Charges

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A woman in her 40s who turned to drugs while struggling to settle in Korean society after defecting from North Korea was sentenced to prison.

On the 18th, according to the legal community, Chief Judge Lee Donghee of the Criminal Division 2 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced North Korean defector A (40, female), who was indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances), to two years in prison. She was also ordered to pay a fine of 10 million won.

Earlier, A was prosecuted for purchasing a total of 135g of methamphetamine, a narcotic, in five separate transactions in Wonju, Gangwon Province, last October. She is also accused of selling methamphetamine twice to others in February and using methamphetamine herself in Seogwipo, Jeju, a month later.

The court stated, "Considering the amount of methamphetamine purchased and the amount the defendant used, the nature of the crime is serious," and added, "The defendant has a prior record of probation with imprisonment for methamphetamine use, so a prison sentence is chosen."

However, the court also noted, "The defendant suffered from depression during the process of defecting from North Korea and settling in Korea, which caused her distress and appears to have been a motive for this case," and added, "She admitted to the crime and actively cooperated with the investigation, and other sentencing factors were taken into consideration."

Meanwhile, according to the 'Status of North Korean Defector Inmates' submitted by the Ministry of Unification to Rep. An Minseok of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, in October last year, a total of 693 North Korean defectors were imprisoned for crimes over five years from 2015, with drug-related offenses accounting for 233 cases, or 33.6%, the highest proportion.

At that time, the Ministry of Unification estimated that narcotics were frequently distributed in North Korea as substitutes for painkillers, and some defectors were likely already exposed to drugs before coming to South Korea, leading to involvement in drug crimes.