Supreme Court Confirms 2-Year Prison Sentence for Don Spike on Drug Use Charges

The prison sentence of composer Don Spike (46, real name Kim Min-su), who is accused of purchasing, possessing, and habitually using a large amount of drugs, has been finalized.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Kwon Young-joon) on the 14th upheld the original sentence of two years in prison for Don Spike, who was indicted while in custody on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (psychotropic substances) and the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances).

Famous composer Don Spike (real name Kim Min-su), accused of drug use, appears at the warrant hearing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The court explained the reason for dismissing the appeal, stating, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience or exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, nor is there a misunderstanding of the law regarding illegally obtained evidence."

Don Spike was indicted in custody in October last year on charges of purchasing methamphetamine worth 45 million won and using it 14 times over nine occasions from December 2021 to September last year. He is also accused of using methamphetamine with accomplices and distributing methamphetamine and ecstasy.

He is also charged with handing over methamphetamine and ecstasy to others seven times and possessing about 20 grams of methamphetamine. This amount corresponds to approximately 667 doses, based on the typical single dose of methamphetamine being 0.03 grams.

The first trial court sentenced him to three years in prison with a five-year probation, ordered a fine of 39,857,500 won, probation, 120 hours of community service, and 80 hours of drug treatment lectures.

In the second trial, conducted after the prosecution's appeal, the court accepted the prosecution's claim that the first trial's sentence was too lenient and unjust, sentencing him to two years in prison and ordering immediate imprisonment.

The court stated, "The crime is quite serious, involving inviting multiple people to use methamphetamine, and it has a severe negative impact on society, necessitating strict punishment. Considering the fairness of punishment, it is difficult to view the defendant's crime as lighter than that of the accomplices who facilitated or abetted this crime."

It added, "It is necessary to consider the fairness of punishment with the accomplice who repeatedly used methamphetamine with the defendant and facilitated or abetted most of the defendant's methamphetamine purchases. Considering that the defendant is the main party in the methamphetamine purchase transactions in this case, the content of the defendant's solo crimes unrelated to the accomplice, and the amount of drugs handled, the defendant's crime cannot be considered lighter than that of the accomplice."

At the Supreme Court, a key issue was whether the recorded visitation audio submitted by the prosecution as sentencing material in the second trial had evidentiary value. The court did not accept Don Spike's claim that the evidence was inadmissible because it violated the Act on the Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Prisoners.

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