'Hwang Hana, Sentenced to 2 Years Imprisonment for Drug Use During Probation'

Court: "Same type of crime during probation... denies offense and shows no remorse"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Hwang Hana (33), who was indicted and detained on charges of drug use and theft during her probation period, has been sentenced to prison.

Judge Lee Seon-mal of the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced Hwang to two years in prison and ordered a fine of 400,000 won at the sentencing hearing on the 9th.

The court stated the reason for sentencing, saying, "The defendant committed the same type of crime while on probation," and "She denied the crime from the investigation stage to the court and showed no remorse."

Earlier, at the sentencing hearing held on the 23rd of last month, the prosecution demanded two years and six months in prison and a fine of 500,000 won, stating, "The defendant committed the crime again despite having been previously given probation by the court, denies her crime, and blames her husband, showing poor criminal attitude."

Hwang was indicted on charges of using methamphetamine five times, including with her husband Oh and acquaintances Nam and Kim in August last year, and using methamphetamine at a motel in Seoul with Oh at the end of the same month (violation of the Narcotics Control Act). She is also charged with stealing items worth about 5 million won from Kim's residence on November 29 last year.

At the time of indictment, Hwang was on probation. Previously, she was indicted for using methamphetamine three times at home from May to September 2015 and for using psychotropic drugs without a prescription in April 2018, and was sentenced to one year in prison with two years probation in the appellate court in November 2019.

Hwang's defense attorney denied the charges in the final argument, stating, "There is insufficient evidence to prove the defendant's psychotropic drug charges," and "The investigation relied only on confessions from acquaintances, and there is no clear evidence to support that the defendant was actually at the crime scene," but the court did not accept this.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.