Q
I'm American, in Korea for three weeks visiting friends. At a party last weekend a friend took what I think was ketamine — I didn't, though I'd been drinking — and stopped responding. I called 119. The paramedics came, and so did police. My friend is fine now. But at the scene an officer took my passport details and yesterday I got a call asking me to come to a station "as a reference person."
At home there are laws protecting people who call for help in an overdose. I don't know if Korea has that. I'm worried that walking into a station puts me — and my friend — in a criminal case, and I'm worried that if I don't go, I'll be stopped at the airport. My flight is in eight days.
Please tell me: (1) Does Korea protect someone who calls emergency services for an overdose, or does the call just create a drug case? (2) What is a "reference person" and can that turn into being a suspect? (3) Can they test me, and should I go before my flight?
A Answer
Korea has no Good Samaritan law for overdoses; calling 119 does not create immunity for the person who collapsed or for anyone present, and the police attend drug-related medical emergencies as a matter of course. That is the honest answer, and it is also why you should not overstate the exposure: you did not use, and a witness who did not use is a witness. A "reference person" (참고인, chamgoin) is exactly that — a witness — and the status can change to suspect only if evidence of your own use or possession appears. Going before your flight, with a plan, is better than not going, because the alternative is an open file with your passport details on it.
What this is under Korean law
Your friend's use of ketamine — a psychotropic substance under the Narcotics Control Act (마약류관리법, mayangnyu gwalli-beop) — is an offense, and the hospital record and the police attendance are its evidence. Korean law contains no provision excusing a user or a companion from investigation because emergency help was sought; proposals for such a rule have been discussed and have not been enacted. What Korean prosecutors do have is discretion, and a person who called for help is a fact they can weigh.
For you, there is no offense in being present, in drinking, or in calling. Presence at a party where drugs were used is not a crime. The questions that could change your status are whether you used, whether you possessed anything, and whether you supplied your friend; if the answer to each is no, the interview is a witness statement.
The reference-person interview
A witness may be asked to attend and give a statement; attendance is voluntary, and a witness has no obligation to answer questions that would incriminate himself. You may have counsel present. The police want your account of what your friend took, when, and from whom — the "from whom" is the part they are actually interested in, because a supplier is a case. If you know, say so; if you do not, say that. Do not guess and do not speculate about other guests.
A witness becomes a suspect when the interview produces evidence against him — an admission, an inconsistency, a companion's statement naming him as a user. That is why you go with counsel and with a statement prepared, and why you do not treat "reference person" as an invitation to chat.
Testing
Police may ask a witness to consent to a drug test to exclude him; you may decline, and a warrant against a witness with no indication of use is unlikely. For someone who did not use, a voluntary test is an exit rather than a risk — it converts "I didn't" into a document — but it is a decision to make with counsel, knowing your own history and any medications. Do not agree to it on the spot because a friendly officer suggests it.
Your flight
A witness is not placed under a departure suspension (출국정지, chulguk jeongji); that measure applies to suspects. If you attend, give your statement and leave your contact details through counsel, you fly. If you do not attend, the police have a file with your passport number and a reference person who left; that is not a warrant, but it is a note, and it can become a question at your next entry. Attending is the cleaner path.
Your friend's situation is separate and more serious; a foreign national with a hospital-documented drug event is a suspect, and your friend needs counsel of his own before any interview. Do not coordinate your statements; give yours truthfully and let his lawyer handle his.
What to do now, and what not to do
Do not discuss the party with the other guests. Do not delete photos or messages from that night. Retain counsel, decide on the test, and schedule the interview before your flight with counsel present. Prepare your account with your lawyer: what you saw, what you did, what you do not know.
From a former police investigator's perspective
Investigators attending an overdose want the supplier and they want the user's file; the friend who called 119 is a witness they need, not a target they want. What turns that friend into a target is a nervous interview — a guess about who brought what, a "we all had a little" said to be agreeable. A witness who says exactly what he knows, declines to speculate, and has counsel beside him is a witness the investigator thanks and releases. You did the right thing on the night; do the same thing in the room.
Contact us before the station date — text consultation or +82-2-522-3959.
— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, Criminal Defense Team
- Previous questionKorean customs seized my CBD oil at the airport and say it's a "narcotic" — it's a wellness product I bought at a pharmacy back home. Am I in trouble?
- Next questionMy Korean ex reported me to the police as a "meth user" after we broke up — I've never touched it. How do I clear this without making it worse?
Need personalized legal help?
This answer is general information. Book a consultation to discuss your specific case with a MEGA X attorney.
Request a consultation