'3rd Generation of Namyang Dairy Family Sentenced to Prison for Marijuana Sale and Smoking'

The grandson of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products, who was arrested and indicted on charges of selling and smoking marijuana, was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

On the 5th, the Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) sentenced Hong (40), who was indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act, to 2 years in prison. He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of drug addiction rehabilitation program and to pay a fine of 35.1 million won.

The court stated, "The defendant actively encouraged other sellers to purchase marijuana, so the need for severe punishment is greater than for simple use," but "considered that he confessed to the crime and showed remorse, and cooperated with the investigation by helping to arrest other marijuana dealers."

Hong, the grandson of the late Hong Doo-young, honorary chairman and founder of Namyang Dairy Products, was arrested and indicted last October for selling marijuana once, and possessing and smoking 62mL of liquid marijuana and 14g of marijuana. Later, additional charges were added for selling liquid marijuana a total of 16 times to five people, including Kim (45), son of a former National Police Agency chief, and Lim (38), a member of the JB Financial Group family, earlier this year.

Hong admitted to all charges. Hong’s lawyer appealed, saying, "The defendant has confessed to all the charges," and requested a suspended sentence considering his active cooperation with the investigation.

In his final statement, Hong pleaded for leniency, saying, "This case being reported in the media has caused an irreparable wound to my daughter," and "Please allow me to return to my child and fulfill my role as a father."

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