Chaebol scions get access to drug overseas

Hwang Ha-na, the granddaughter of Namyang Dairy Products founder Hong Du-yeong, being taken into the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, after being apprehended for illegal drug use, Thursday. Yonhap

By Kim Hyun-bin

A series of drug use allegations have been made recently involving scions of big conglomerates or other affluent families, including SK Group, Hyundai Group and Namyang Dairy Products.

These wealthy individuals had a common link: They all studied abroad and first experienced the use of drugs during their overseas stay.

Many experts believe they were able to so because it can be easier to obtain drugs such as marijuana overseas, especially because some countries have recently legalized the recreational use of cannabis as well as a few states in the U.S. As such, some try and continue to use drugs when they return to Korea.

The grandson of SK Group founder Chey Jong-gun, who was recently arrested for the use of marijuana, graduated from a U.S. university; and according to police, was able to obtain liquid marijuana cartridges from a 27-year-old dealer, identified by his surname Lee, who also studied in the U.S.

While questioning Lee, the police also discovered that a grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung had purchased the same marijuana products from him. Lee told police that he met Chung first when studying abroad, and they smoked marijuana together.

Hwang Ha-na, Namyang Dairy Products' founder Hong Du-yeong's granddaughter who was detained on Thursday on drug use charges, also studied in the U.S.

Based on a report by one of Hwang's acquaintances, a local newspaper said she was investigated for drug use by the U.S. authorities in Las Vegas in 2011 while studying there, and was deported.

There have been similar cases where people studying abroad were caught for bringing illegal drugs into the country or using after purchasing them here.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency plan to request the prosecution to seek an arrest warrant for Hwang soon.

Hwang, who was taken into custody Thursday afternoon, admitted some of the drug use allegations during more than seven hours of questioning, police said.

She has been suspected of using drugs on numerous occasions since 2015, but has always avoided criminal charges, raising suspicions of corrupt ties between her family and the authorities.

Police said they obtained a new lead in October about her drug use began a new investigation.

In 2015, Hwang was booked for giving a university student surnamed Cho with 0.5 grams of methamphetamine, which they used together. But she faced no criminal charges and was not even summoned for questioning even after Cho specifically stated Hwang supplied him with the drug.

Unlike Hwang, Cho was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail. Hwang was involved in another drug case in 2011 but the indictment against her was suspended.