2 South Koreans were executed in China on Wednesday for smuggling and trading
drugs in the country despite Seoul's repeated pleas for clemency, a government
source said Wednesday.
A district court in China's Jilin province, which borders North Korea, ordered
the execution of the 2 South Korean drug dealers, who were convicted of
smuggling a large amount of methamphetamine from North Korea into China and
selling it to traffickers in their home country, said the source, requesting
anonymity.
It marked China's 1st execution of a South Korean since a South Korean national
was executed in 2004 for committing murder. Another South Korean was executed
in 2001 after being convicted of drug crimes.
In April 2011, the duo were arrested on charges of smuggling 14.8 kilograms of
methamphetamine and selling 12.3 kilograms of the drug to dealers in South
Korea, according to the source.
The court had earlier sentenced them to death and the province's appellate
court upheld the ruling in June 2013. China's highest court finally confirmed
the sentence in March.
Since the Chinese government notified South Korea of the court's decision last
month, Seoul had repeatedly asked for a stay of execution on humanitarian
grounds, the official noted.
China rejected the pleas, saying both domestic and foreign drug dealers should
be equally subject to China's strict punishment for drug crimes, according to
the source.
"The South Korean government expresses deep regret over the latest execution of
our citizens in China," foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said. "The
government has repeatedly pleaded for humanitarian consideration through
various levels of channels ... and we plan to provide all the necessary support
(to the families of the 2)."
Another execution is awaiting a South Korean drug dealer in Shandong province,
who was recently sentenced to death for smuggling and trading 11.9 kilograms of
drugs in 2009, another diplomatic source said.
The highest court delivered its order of execution for the South Korean drug
offender to a regional court in the province and the execution may take place
in the near future, the source said.
The execution of the 2 South Koreans came after a series of recent death
penalties carried out against foreign drug dealers in China.
1 Brit, 5 Japanese, 5 Filipinos and 1 Pakistani have been put to death for drug
offenses since 2009.
Producing or trading more than 1 kilogram of opium or 50 grams of
methamphetamine or heroin is subject to heavy punishment in China.
"In the past 5 years, China has executed drug criminals from Britain, Japan,
the Philippines and Pakistan. They were executed for dealing about 3 to 4
kilograms of drugs, far less than what the 2 South Korean dealers were caught
dealing," the official noted.
About 20 South Koreans have been sentenced to the death penalty for
drug-related offenses in China, but most of them have had their sentences
commuted, he added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency, August 6, 2014
