South Korea’s top court has overturned the conviction of a drug suspect who submitted another person’s urine to dodge a narcotics test, ruling the police acted unlawfully and the suspect cannot be punished.
The Supreme Court sent the case back to the Seoul Eastern District Court, overturning a lower court decision that had sentenced the defendant to 10 months in prison on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception, according to legal sources on Wednesday.
The suspect was accused of interfering with a police drug test by submitting another detainee's urine while in custody in June 2024. Court records show he paid 2 million won ($1,350) for the sample, tested negative and was released.
Lower courts found the suspect guilty, ruling the police had acted lawfully in detaining him and requesting the drug test, and that his actions amounted to obstruction of official duties.
After spotting the suspect outside a hotel in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, police took him to a room he had shared with another suspect, where drug paraphernalia was found among the other suspect's belongings. While the other suspect was taken into custody, officers handcuffed the suspect, searched him and repeatedly demanded a urine sample despite his refusal.
The top court, however, focused on whether the police acted lawfully, rather than on the deception itself. It said the officers acted unlawfully and used coercion before the narcotics test.
“A charge of obstruction of official duties by deception applies only when the official’s actions are lawful,” the court said. “If the underlying act is illegal, the charge does not stand.”
junheee@heraldcorp.com
