Another Korean drug dealer executed in China

China has executed a Korean national for smuggling and trading drugs. The execution came in five months after the country executed three Koreans in August last year.

The Foreign Ministry of Korean said on Monday, "The Chinese government told the Korean Embassy in China that a Korean drug dealer, surnamed Kim, was executed on Dec. 30, 2014. On the previous day, the High People’s Court in Beijing also told the Korean embassy that the Supreme People’s Court gave a final approval on the death sentence to Kim and it would allow the final visit by his family.

Kim was arrested for smuggling and carrying five kilograms of drugs in Shenzhen, China, in May 2010 and was sentenced to death in his first trial by the Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing in April 2012. And eight months later, the High People’s Court in Beijing confirmed the original verdict at the second trial. A criminal case is subject to two levels in China, but death sentence must obtain an approval from the Supreme People’s Court.

The Chinese court said in the ruling, "Death sentence was inevitable to given that Kim possessed a large amount of drugs, smuggled drugs three times and carried them once, playing a key role in drug trading. Under the Chinese law, anyone who smuggles, sells, carries, and produces at least one kilogram of opium or at 50 grams of heroin (including methamphetamine) can be executed.

The Korean government has requested Beijing to stop Kim’s execution several times considering humanitarianism, the principle of reciprocity and the cooperative relationship between Korea and China. However, Beijing pushed for the execution saying that drug crime has a huge harmful effect on society and it does not discriminate its nationals from foreigners.