The grandson of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products was recently arrested and indicted for habitually taking drugs and supplying them to others.
As accomplices, it is known that a large number of wealthy children, such as the third generation of other chaebol companies, are on the prosecution investigation line, and depending on the progress of the investigation, there is a prospect that a 'conglomerate third generation drug scandal' may explode.
According to the legal community today (2nd), the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office (Chief Prosecutor Shin Jun-ho) arrested and prosecuted Mr. Hong (40) on the 15th of last month for possession of cannabis and habitual use (violation of the Narcotics Control Act).
Mr. Hong, the grandson of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products, is accused of not only being a 'user' of cannabis, but also sharing his cannabis with close acquaintances and international students and smoking them together.
It is known that many of the people who smoked cannabis from Mr. Hong included a number of the third generation of the family of the head of chaebol companies such as H, a leading domestic company.
It is known that 10 people have risen on the prosecution investigation line.
Prosecutors are expanding their investigation, believing that there may be more drug charges against the third generation of chaebol families that have not yet been revealed.
There are also observations that the scale of judicial processing may increase to double digits depending on the progress of the investigation.
Prosecutors plan to speed up the investigation and close the case in the middle of this month.
Due to Hong's drug case, the family of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products faced another '3rd generation drug risk' following his granddaughter Hwang Ha-na, who caused controversy for using methamphetamine.
Hwang was sentenced to 1 year in prison and 2 years of probation at the appeals court in 2019 for taking methamphetamine several times with his ex-lover, singer Park Yu-chun, from 2015 to 2018.
He was caught taking drugs again in 2020, when he was on probation, and in February of this year, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of 1 year and 8 months in prison.
Mr. Hong is preparing for the first trial by appointing a former prosecution attorney with extensive drug investigation experience.
Attorney Jeon Dong-in (Judicial Research and Training Institute 26th class) in charge of Mr. Hong's case investigated and indicted a hip-hop singer on charges of drug use while serving at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office.
He also investigated allegations of drug use by the son-in-law of then Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung.
Mr. Hong's first trial will be held on the 23rd of this month at the hearing of the 27th part of the Criminal Agreement of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Ok-gon).