The Seoul Central District Court has finalized the dismissal of charges against a university club member and a doctor who were indicted for administering narcotics. On the 18th, the Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutor's appeal and finalized the dismissal of charges against A, who was a member of a university club, and B, a doctor in his 50s. A and B were indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act by administering hallucinogenic substances to club members at a university in Seoul in June 2021. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the charges in January of this year, citing that the search and seizure of evidence was illegal. The prosecution appealed, but the high court upheld the lower court's decision, and the Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutor's appeal, finalizing the dismissal of charges. The Supreme Court stated that the search and seizure by the police was illegal and that it was difficult to acknowledge the evidence collected through it. The court also stated that even if the evidence was collected illegally, if it was inevitable and the illegality is not serious, it can be used as evidence, but in this case, it was difficult to acknowledge it as evidence because the illegality was serious. The court also mentioned that there was no need to make a specific statement on the trial court's violation of the rules of evidence. The Supreme Court finalized the decision, saying that there was no reason to overturn the original decision. The Seoul Central District Court previously dismissed the charges against nine people, including A and B, who were indicted on charges of administering narcotics, citing that the evidence collected through illegal search and seizure was illegal. The nine people, including A, were those who were administered hallucinogenic substances along with A and B. The court stated that it was difficult to acknowledge the evidence collected through illegal search and seizure as evidence, and that the charges against all nine people, including A and B, were dismissed.
A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Korea has confirmed the dismissal of charges against a university student and a doctor who were accused of drug use while affiliated with a college fraternal organization. The case stemmed from the distribution of drugs within the fraternity, with the student and doctor accused of using substances provided by the fraternity president.
Initially, the police charged the student and doctor with drug-related offenses, but the court deemed the investigation as unlawful. The Supreme Court's 1st Division (chaired by Chief Justice Choi Dae-yeop) upheld the lower court's decision to dismiss the charges. The court stated that the investigation process was found to be unlawful due to the failure to establish a direct connection between the patient and the crime.
The accused, identified as 'Bae' and 'Lee', were part of a university-wide fraternal organization event in 2023. Over 200 students from universities including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University were involved in this incident. The fraternal organization's president was sentenced to one and a half years in prison in June 2023, while the student and doctor received sentences of two and a half years and one year, respectively, with the possibility of suspension.
However, the appellate court dismissed the charges against both individuals, citing the unlawful nature of the investigation. The Supreme Court reviewed the case and affirmed the dismissal, stating that the lower court erred in interpreting the law regarding the scope of investigation by a prosecutor.
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