Drug Crime Sentencing Guidelines Stuck in Place for Over 10 Years

After 2011 Revision, Large-Scale Crime Amendments Twice
Standards for Dosage or Possession Remain Unchanged
Minor Sentences Lead to Recidivism and Vicious Cycle

The 'Special Investigation Headquarters for Drug Crimes (Special Headquarters)', launched on the 10th centered around the prosecution and police, has decided to urge the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission to propose an agenda to strengthen sentencing for defendants who violate the Narcotics Control Act and related laws.

On the 10th, the Special Headquarters announced a blueprint for handling crackdown suspects, including this matter, following the 'Drug Crime Related Agencies Council' held at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The Special Headquarters explained, "In situations where innocent citizens are becoming victims of crimes such as new types of phishing, gambling fraud, sexual crimes using drugs, and traffic accidents caused by driving under hallucination, we intend to push for the submission of an agenda to the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission to ensure that drug offenders receive heavy sentences."

Shin Bong-su, Head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, is giving an explanation related to the drug crime response cooperation meeting with relevant agencies at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the morning of the 10th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This policy is analyzed to have been mainly influenced by repeated lenient judgments by the courts on drug crimes. The Special Headquarters also pointed out, "Despite the harm caused by drug crimes, arrest warrants are dismissed or minor sentences such as probation are handed down, leading to recidivism, and the vicious cycle of drug use and distribution not being eradicated continues."

According to statistics from the Judicial Yearbook published by the Supreme Court, among 5,438 first-instance rulings on violations of the Narcotics Control Act last year, only 2,624 cases (48.1%) resulted in imprisonment. The proportion of imprisonment sentences shows a clear declining trend compared to 53.7% in 2020 and 50.6% in 2021. Conversely, the probation rate increased from 36.3% to 38.1% and then to 39.8% during the same period.

It is analyzed that the courts' repeated 'light-touch' rulings stem from sentencing guidelines that have not reflected the changed realities. The sentencing guidelines for drug crimes, revised in 2011, were amended twice in 2015 and 2020, but only the sentencing standards for large-scale offenders were partially strengthened. For drug use or possession, the guidelines from over ten years ago are still being followed. Meanwhile, drug crimes have penetrated various parts of society by combining with various violent crimes beyond simple drug use. The 'drug beverage' incident in the Gangnam academy district is a representative case.

Kim Young-ran, Chairperson of the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Kim Young-ran, Chairperson of the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission, seemed aware of these changes in the crime environment and stated at last year's Supreme Court audit, "There is a need to comprehensively review the sentencing guidelines for drug crimes." However, the Sentencing Commission did not discuss the sentencing guidelines for drug crimes in the two meetings held after last year's audit. It is reported that there are no plans to set sentencing guidelines for drug crimes at the meeting scheduled for the 24th of this month.

The 8th Sentencing Commission, chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Kim Young-ran, will end its term after the meeting on the 24th. On the same day, the Supreme Court appointed Professor Lee Sang-won of Seoul National University Law School as the chairperson of the 9th Sentencing Commission. The 9th Sentencing Commission is expected to hold a plenary meeting around June to begin selecting crime categories for sentencing guideline discussions.

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