Police have busted six foreign English teachers employed at famous language hagwon for smoking pot.
Seoul Police announced yesterday that they’d detained a 40-year-old illegal alien from Ghana and booked (without detention) a 31-year-old Korean hagwon instructor by the name of Lee for drug law violations. They also booked six foreign teachers — including a 30-year-old American — for habitually smoking pot, and a 43-year-old hagwon boss for illegally employing foreign teachers without E-2 visas.
According to the cops, Mr. Lee obtained some 160 grams of pot (street value: 2.4 million won) from the Ghanaian over five transactions taking place between last August and April 18. Lee turned around and sold the ganja to foreign English teachers he knew, and smoked it with them at his home in Ilsan.
Or so he (and they) are charged.
Police say Lee learned of a supplier at an Ilsan bar frequented by foreign English teachers, and apparently obtained his weed in — you guessed it — Itaewon.
The foreign teachers busted this time around worked at famous hagwon in the Seoul/Gyeonggi-do area. They are suspected of toking up with Lee some 10 times.
A police official said, “Most of them smoked marijuana in their home countries, and they also made by hand glass pipes to smoke marijuana here in Korea… As there’s a concern that they may have a bad influence on the students they teach, it’s necessary to strengthen screenings into prior drug-use records when E-2 visas are given out.”
One of the Americans, a Mr. K, made the mistake of sounding off to the Internet TV channel of the Maeil Gyeongje, saying (and I’m translating back from the Korean translation), “Why did I smoke pot? Because it felt good. Why do people drink alcohol? The same reason.”
GoNews, meanwhile, points out that the afore mention Mr. Lee is actually a dual-citizen, and the son of an English lit professor at a prestigious Korean University.
Police — working together with the National Intelligence Service — also believe that there are more foreign teachers out there doing pot, Ecstasy and other illicit chemicals, and accordingly plan to expand their investigations.
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20 Comments
If Lee is 31 years old, he is not, or should not be, a dual citizen. Doesn’t Korea require dual nationals to choose when they become adults?
“Police — working together with the National Intelligence Service — also believe that there are more foreign teachers out there doing pot, Ecstasy and other illicit chemicals”
Seriously? Wow, now that is good police work. And only two agencies worked together to come up with that opinion? Wow 두 개!
Sonagi brings up an interesting fact. When I got naturalized in the States, technically, I had dual citizenship. When i had to go to Korea, before I could enter, I had to renounce my Korean citizenship. I wonder how he entered Korea? Or, is it possible to have dual citizenship if he already served in the ROK military?
#1 - I know this is supposed to be the case, but I’ve heard of or met a number of people here over the years who have at least claimed to have managed to maintain dual citizenship. How they might have done this, I have no idea. (I know my son is going to have to make a choice down the road.)
Anyway, it’s another reminder that smoking dope and living in Korea aren’t a terribly great combination.
This on the heels of Immigration’s announcement they have dropped the drug-test from the “medical checkup” required for the Alien Registration Card.
http://www.immigration.go.kr/indeximmeng.html
…which I’m guessing was dropped due to too many Canucks getting rejected and everyone knows we make up the bulk of loser foreign teachers in Korea.
So why did the story writer need to point out that one of the 6 was “American”?
It was not stated what nationalities the other 5 were. Why the need to point out that there was a Yank in the group?
Is the writer surprised that not every single one of them was American?
It’s a pity that this news will probably overshadow the Olympic torch beatings by Chinese students in the list priorities of the government.
Cuz those cunts need a beating far more than any pot smoker.
For you metric-system-impaired Americans (or Canadian English teachers), 160g = a big fuss about some guy who bought 5 ounces of what was probably skunkweed over the course of one year. It would be more than enough for a guy who smokes a joint or two on weekends, but it’s a rather insignificant amount of pot when split 7 ways. It would come down to one small joint each every 2-3 weeks. Certainly not the drug addicts that the cops are trying to make them out to be.
I recently completed my criminal record check, and my medical for my new E-2 visa application. I was sent back to the hospital by immigration to get the drug test results. The medical included an HIV test as well. I have not left Korea for two years. When did they do away with the drug test ?
The medical test still includes the TB and HIV check. I believe they did away with the cannabis check last week. Sorry I don’t have a Korean link that indicates this if you need proof for your Immigration officer…
Postscript to #9… Uh, these tests are required for the Alien Registration card while the Criminal Record Check is for the Visa application.
I’ve seen at least one guy with THREE passports — his birth Korean passport, a French passport [he was married to a French woman], and a US passport — that one I have no idea how he got it. So yeah I guess it’s indeed possible.
When I was in college, I had a couple of French-Japanese friends with both passports — Japan is just as intolerant as Korea regarding dual citizenship, and they both told me they entered Japan with their Japanese passport, and France with their French passport. They had no issues with the military duty, since Japan doesn’t have a draft, and France didn’t care whether you left the country before you did your tour of duty — and in any event France doesn’t have a draft any longer.
A consul at the French Embassy told me some years ago that when a Korean citizen acquired the French citizenship, they did *not* notify Korean authorities, so it was up to the newly minted Frenchie to do it, if he/she felt like it.
Likewise, he told me it was *impossible* as a French citizen — at least one who was born as a French — to lose his/her citizenship. So basically, those interested in taking up the Korean citizenship would just have to drop by the Embassy after the naturalization procedure and get a new passport. I dunno whether this still applies today, though, with the changes in the citizenship laws.
what is required and what happens are two different things. the requirement is that by getting citizenship in another country, it is the right and duty of the korean national to go down to his local gu and remove his name from the family registry and turn in his korean passport. i have yet to meet anyone who actually did this. all of the koreans i’ve known who had both citizenships kept both citizenships.
as to the korean with three citizenships, i would assume he was an anchor baby who received citizenship in the US just by being born here. this is a practice by pregnant korean women that continues unabated.
Nope. I know the guy well, in fact, or at east knEw him well, and he was born in Korea, somewhere around Pusan, in the 60s. No fodder for the anti-Visa Waiver, much as I would like it too…
Thanks #11, was not aware. I have no beef over the drug test, except I had to return to the hospital then the Immigration office one more time.
As I understand its not possible to keep dual citizenship as a korean adult legally. If they become naturalised as an American for example, then they are deem ed to have renounced their citizenship of Korea since Korea does not permit dual nationality for adults. The simple fact that they have not informed the authorities and relinquished their korean passport does not make them a dual national. All the dual passport holders I know are fully aware of this and always visit korea on their korean passport so as to avoid detection and punishment. Minor are allowed to reserve a decision until adulthood whereupon they must choose which citizenship to retain and which to renounce.
Albeit now note DDA’s comment on not being able to give up some nationalities, I did forget this is the case for some, I think its the case for Italy too so you could do as suggested.
Some countries don’t go as far as preventing you from giving up nationality, but do allow you to regain it again if you wish later. I beleive Australia is fairly relaxed on reinstating citizenship on application to those who have previously renounced it. UK is more restricted it will allow reinstatement once without problem, but will need strong persuasion to allow it twice (kind of once may be a mistake, but twice….) Checked this out for myself, as ironically for me getting korean citizenship seems easier then getting F5 Permanent Residency.
It’s the same story for Canada. I’ve got a current should-be-simple immigration matter which is being complicated enormously by this factor.
Robert,
You got the pot smokers but didn’t cover the pervert?
Charlie
I was never able to get a straight answer even from my attorney friends who practice in Korea about this issue.
I became naturalized US citizen and kept my Korean passport about 8 years ago. I never used my Korean passport since and just kept it for sentimental reasons (it’s probably expired anyway).
Now, I am told my one attorney that it’s my duty to report to the consulate over here in NY and that I renounce my Korean citizenship. (Yea, like I’m gonna waste my time doing that!) I’m told if I do not do this, I can still get drafted if I’m still age-eligible. I’m in my mid 30’s now so if they do take me away to serve for not renouncing my citizenship, I’d be surprised that they’d even want me!
If they really do want me to serve and put my fellow soldiers at harm’s way…well, I will just say “I told you so,” when shit hits the fan. I’m in pretty good shape physically, but it now takes me 3 full days to recover when I go out drinking as opposed to a few hours when I was in my teens and early 20’s. I cannot imagine guarding a post without falling asleep.
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[...] So, Six Pot-Smoking English Teachers, a Korean Drug Dealer and an Illegal African Alien Walk into a … Yep, we have another public bust of dumb fucks in Ilsan. Expect repercussions. [...]