Namyang Dairy scion sentenced for cannabis

Drugs exhibited by the custom agency in February. [YONHAP]

A court sentenced the grandson of Namyang Dairy’s founder to two years in prison for consuming and distributing marijuana.

Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday also ordered the 40-year-old Hong In-seok to undergo 40 hours of rehab and to pay a 35.1 million won fine.

Hong is the grandson of Hong Doo-young, who founded one of Korea’s biggest milk and diary product manufacturers.

In its ruling, the court said Hong deserved a heavy sentence because he didn't simply use marijuana, but recommended others to buy the drug as well.

However, the court also said it gave Hong a lighter sentence than the one recommended by prosecutors because he confessed, expressed regret and cooperated with the investigation.

Prosecutors asked the court to sentence Hong to three years in prison with a fine of 41.8 million won.

Hong was one of nine people indicted in December for the possession and distribution of drugs, including Cho Hyun-woo, the grandson of the founder of another major corporate entity, the Hyosung Group.

According to prosecutors, Hong sold five liquid cannabis cartridges worth 2.5 million won to Cho. He is also accused of selling 20 cartridges worth 6.7 million won to other people.

Not only were the drugs hidden in a safe at a hotel, but he also received payments in a bank account registered in his wife's name.

Hong’s lawyers argued during the trial that he sold the cannabis for economic reasons.

They argued he needed money to raise his child and that he wasn’t as economically sound as many would believe.

Hong is also a cousin of Hwang Ha-na, who was also sentenced in 2021 to a year and eight months in prison for doing meth. She was released in October 2022.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]