Our son was sentenced to two years in prison in Korea on a drug charge — we're in the UK. What is a Korean prison like for a foreigner, can he appeal, and can he serve it at home?

He will serve the sentence in a Korean correctional institution — foreign prisoners are commonly held at facilities with foreign-inmate sections, with interpretation for official matters and some accommodation of diet and language, though the regime is Korean and the isolation is real. You can visit, on a schedule, and you can write and send money. A transfer to serve the remainder in the UK is possible in principle: Korea and the UK are both parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and Korea's own transfer law implements it — but the process takes many months, requires both governments' consent, and usually begins after the sentence is final. An appeal cannot make things worse in the sense you fear — a defendant's own appeal cannot result in a heavier sentence — and whether it helps depends on facts your lawyer should be able to state precisely, not "within the range."

The sentence and the appeal

A two-year term for import of MDMA is at the low end of the statutory range; that is what "within the range" means, and it reflects mitigation the court accepted. An appeal (항소, hangso) must be filed within seven days of the judgment; the appellate court reviews sentence and, if argued, facts. Where only the defendant appeals, the prohibition on disadvantageous alteration (불이익변경금지) prevents a heavier sentence. Appeals in drug cases succeed in reducing sentences where new mitigation exists — a settlement is irrelevant here, but completion of treatment, cooperation not fully credited, family circumstances, or a legal error in the first instance's treatment of intent are the usual grounds — and fail where the argument is simply that two years is too many. Your son's lawyer should tell you which of those applies; if the answer is none, the appeal's value is limited and the eight months already served count toward the term.

Time in pre-trial detention is credited against the sentence.

Serving the sentence

After the judgment is final, he is transferred from the detention center to a correctional institution. Foreign prisoners are concentrated at certain facilities; conditions include interpretation for disciplinary and medical matters, access to consular visits, and allowances for religious and dietary needs within the regime. The daily regime — work, meals, limited yard time, shared cells — is that of a Korean prison, and the language barrier is the hardest part; other foreign inmates and the consulate become important. Parole (가석방, gaseokbang) is available after a portion of the sentence, at the institution's and the parole board's discretion; foreign prisoners are eligible, and good conduct and program participation are the inputs.

Visits, letters, money

Family visits are permitted on a schedule that depends on the prisoner's classification, typically several times a month, for limited durations, with an interpreter where needed; visits from abroad can be arranged in advance through counsel and the institution. Letters are permitted and read. Money can be deposited for purchases. The British consulate conducts periodic welfare visits and can relay urgent matters. Counsel's visits are not subject to the family limits.

Transfer to the UK

Korea's Act on International Transfer of Sentenced Persons implements the Council of Europe Convention, to which the UK is a party. Transfer requires: a final sentence; the prisoner's consent; the consent of both Korea and the UK; and generally a minimum remaining term. The prisoner applies through the Korean Ministry of Justice and the UK authorities; the process involves the UK confirming it will enforce the sentence under its own rules, which can mean earlier release than in Korea. It commonly takes a year or more, and with a two-year sentence and eight months served, the arithmetic matters: begin immediately after finality, and understand that transfer may arrive close to the point where parole or completion would anyway. Counsel can assess whether the timeline makes it worthwhile.

After the sentence

A foreign national who completes a sentence is removed from Korea under the Immigration Act and subject to an entry ban whose length is set at the time; a drug import conviction carries a long one. Those are the Immigration Office's decisions and are for later; they are worth knowing now so that no one expects him to return.

MEGA X handles the criminal case, the appeal and the transfer application.

What to do now, and what not to do

Decide on the appeal within the seven days, on a specific ground or not at all. Ask counsel for the judgment's reasoning in English. Register with the institution as visitors; coordinate with the consulate. Begin the transfer inquiry as soon as the sentence is final. Do not send money to anyone claiming to influence the prison.

From a former police investigator's perspective

Families of convicted foreign nationals are often told "it's within the range" because it is true and because it ends the conversation. It should not. The judgment has reasoning; the reasoning identifies what the court did and did not credit; and that is the appeal's map, or the reason not to file one. Ask for the reasoning.

We can review the judgment and the transfer timeline with you this week — text consultation or +82-2-522-3959.

— Hyeonghwan Chon, Managing Partner, MEGA X Law Firm Korea