Aekyung scion gets suspended sentence in illegal drug case

SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- A former head of Aekyung Development Co., an affiliate of South Korean retail giant Aekyung Group, received a suspended prison sentence from a Seoul appellate court on Thursday for illegally using a sedative drug.

The appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Chae Seung-seok to imprisonment of one year, suspended for three years, for habitually taking propofol, a sedative primarily used in the operating room, in violation of the Narcotics Control Act.

Chae, the third son of the group's Chairwoman Chang Young-shin, was previously sentenced to eight months in prison by a district court after being convicted of taking around 100 shots of propofol from September 2017 to November 2019 at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul.

He was put under arrest last September following the district court ruling but was released on bail last December.

Despite the suspended sentence, the appellate court maintained a forfeit of 45.3 million won (US$37,949) for Chae and ordered him to conduct 300 hours of social services and undergo 40 hours of drug treatment.

The appellate court said the district court's sentence seemed too light for Chae in consideration of his personal circumstances but an actual prison sentence seemed too heavy for him at the same time.

"The defendant has confessed to all his crimes after he surrendered voluntarily and actively cooperated with the prosecution's investigation. In addition, he has received regular medical treatment after being released on bail," the court said.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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