Last month, a former National Intelligence Service officer was sentenced to death for distributing drugs in Vietnam, and three months ago, a Korean businessman was reportedly sentenced to death for killing his compatriot there.
According to diplomatic authorities on the 11th, the Korean man surnamed Jeong was sentenced to death in September for murdering the man who he was working with in Vietnam, and is awaiting execution in a local court. Jeong murdered the man in November 2020 due to a financial conflict and then buried him in secret. The number of cases where Koreans are sentenced to death in foreign countries occurs every year. According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Office of Representative Kim Woong of People’s Power, six people have been sentenced to death abroad for six years since 2018. Five people are serving their lives on death row in Vietnam, and one person was recently executed in China.
Three people were suspected of drug distribution and sale, and three were suspected of murder. Most recently, Kim (63), a former NIS officer, and Kang (30), a former NIS officer, were sentenced to death last month for distributing 216 kilograms of drugs in Vietnam. The man who possessed 5 kilograms of methamphetamine in China in 2014 was also executed in August this year. The man who worked as an entertainment bar employee in Vietnam was sentenced to death in March last year after committing a robbery against a Korean woman in 2019. A Korean who was sentenced to death for robbery and murder in November 2018 is also serving time in a Vietnamese prison. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned about worsening diplomatic relations due to a series of violent crimes. Despite South Korea’s call for restraint from execution, China has executed a total of seven Koreans so far.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
