My hair test came back positive for cannabis and the case is now with the prosecutor — I'm an E-2 teacher. What outcomes are realistic, and what can I still do?

For a first-offense user with two admitted uses, a positive test, no distribution and a cooperative record, the realistic outcomes at the prosecutor's desk are two: a suspension of indictment conditioned on a treatment or education program, or a summary fine. Indictment and a suspended sentence happen where the file shows more — more use, a purchase, a lie. The outcome is not out of your hands; the six weeks of silence are the window in which a written submission and a completed program change what the prosecutor reads. And a suspension of indictment is not a criminal record in the sense that matters for a background check, though it is visible to immigration.

What this is under Korean law

Use of cannabis is an offense under Article 61 of the Narcotics Control Act (마약류관리법, mayangnyu gwalli-beop) — up to five years' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 50 million. Two uses in Korea, admitted and confirmed by hair analysis, is a complete case on the elements; the only question left is disposition.

How the prosecutor decides

The police referred the case (송치, songchi) with your statement, the test result and their opinion. The prosecutor may summon you for a further interview, or decide on the file. The options: a suspension of indictment (기소유예, giso yuye) — the prosecutor finds the offense proven but declines to prosecute, considering your circumstances; in drug cases it is commonly conditioned on completing an education or treatment program (교육이수조건부, 치료조건부 기소유예); a summary order for a fine (약식명령, yaksik myeongnyeong); or indictment, leading to trial and, for a first-time user, typically a suspended sentence. Prosecutors' internal guidelines on first-offense cannabis users favor the conditional suspension where the user has no prior record, cooperated, and shows a low risk of repetition.

What moves the outcome now

Three things, all achievable in weeks. First, a written submission from counsel (변호인 의견서) setting out the limited nature of the use, the absence of any purchase or supply, your cooperation, your employment and residence, and your request for a conditional suspension; prosecutors read these, and a file that arrives with one reads differently from one that arrives with only the police opinion. Second, voluntary enrollment in a drug education or counseling program — the Korean Association Against Drug Abuse and hospital-based programs accept self-referrals — with proof of attendance attached to the submission; a prosecutor who would impose that condition sees it already met. Third, silence toward everyone else in the friend's case; any contact reads as coordination.

If the prosecutor summons you, attend with counsel and an interpreter, and say what you said before, no more.

The record

A suspension of indictment is recorded in the prosecutor's disposition records and in investigative databases; it is not a conviction, and it does not appear on the criminal record certificate (범죄경력회보서) that employers request. Your school would not see it in a background check. Immigration is different: the Immigration Office has access to disposition data and may see it at extension. A suspension of indictment for a single drug matter is, on the range of what immigration guidelines weigh, at the mild end and is not among the grounds listed for deportation — but the Immigration Office decides, and we do not predict. A fine is a conviction and is on the criminal record; that is the practical reason to aim for the suspension rather than accept the fine as "a good result." MEGA X handles the criminal case; where the result touches your status, we coordinate with an immigration specialist as part of the defense.

What to do now, and what not to do

Enroll in a program this week. Have the submission filed. Do not use. Do not travel without confirming the departure question. Do not tell the school; there is nothing yet to tell.

From a former police investigator's perspective

Prosecutors deciding first-offense user cases are sorting by risk of repetition, and they have very little to go on beyond the police file. A user who has already completed a program and whose lawyer has described a settled life has answered the question they were about to ask. Six weeks of silence is not the prosecutor deciding against you; it is a queue. Put something in the file before your turn comes.

Send us your police statement and the test result and we can file the submission and set up the program — text consultation or +82-2-522-3959.

— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, Criminal Defense Team