Institute of Crime Science director raises questions about special treatment + 'Dispatch' offers clarifications surrounding Park Bom's case

Despite the�explanations from Yang Hyun Suk as well as the prosecution concerning�2NE1's Park Bom's incident from four years ago that recently surfaced, it seems there are still those who are raising questions about how Bom was supposedly let off so easily. A�director of an institute of crime science spoke up to bring up some bold points about special treatment and an abuse of power by the prosecution being involved in the case. At the same time, media outlet 'Dispatch' tried to provide some clarifications and their point of view about the case�- offering two opposing views.

As mentioned earlier,Yang Hyun Suk had revealed that because Park Bom was able to provide her medical history record as well as her prescription for the amphetamine she had tried to receive, prosecution dropped their investigation. As many voiced their concern about whether special treatment was involved as Bom is a celebrity and 2NE1 had been promotional ambassadors for the Ministry of Justice at the time, prosecution denied that there was any special treatment.

Despite these explanations, director�Dr. Pyo�of the�Pyo Institute of Crime Science�(PICS) gave his point of view, stating, "Park Bom's suspension of charges is an equality [fairness] issue. It is a matter of whether or not one was given equal treatment in front of the law... Were others offered the same type of case suspension with the same situation. Things about whether the suspect would receive punishment in another country or whether the drug was intended for treatment - these cannot be used as an excuse for suspension of charges."

"Because our nation is one that applies�jurisdiction based on the nationality of the person as well as territorial jurisdiction,�if one commits a crime in our nation, no matter what it's like in another country, punishment must be given and one cannot go unpunished."

"In the case of Park Bom, the prosecution used their authority to suspend the charges unlike other suspects. You can consider this to be close to an abuse of discretionary power and a wrongful act."

However, media outlet 'Dispatch' also stepped up to look into the matter for their 'Q&A' column and offered their point of view. The key points they raised in summary were :

Did Bom send the drug to her grandmother knowing that it was illegal and to prevent herself from getting caught? - The reason Bom had the drug sent to her grandmother instead of herself was because she is frequently not at her place and her mother also leaves the house often. Thus, she had it sent to her grandmother's house in hopes that the package wouldn't be missed.
The prosecution's steps into investigating this case & results: They waited a week to study where it came from and who it was going towards - questioned her grandmother after a week - headed to Bom and her mother's home - searched the place - found that only 3-4 had been consumed among the 82 pills in a span of a week, which is definitely way too little to suspect drug abuse, addiction, or selling.
Isn't it still true that she had imported drugs that are illegal in Korea? - Yes, that's why she was initially investigated. Her mother was also questioned. Domestic laws regarding narcotics have severe punishments if it's found that someone is making, distributing, or providing a place where this can occur. However, none of these applied to Park Bom. The remaining 78 pills were untouched.
Can this be considered special treatment as the prosecution suspended/closed the case? - Even if someone did use narcotics, if the person has clear intentions and there is no concern about them fleeing and that it is their first offense, then there is a possibility that they could be given leniency. Since Bom also provided her prescription from the States and because she was using it for treatment purposes, it is possible to be given a case suspension. It's not something to exaggerate as special treatment.
What about the employee at Samsung who was charged for a similar case [rather than having his case suspended like Bom]? - For this case, the man was unable to clearly explain where he got it from. According to the prosecution, they determined that he got it from an acquaintance. If the man had aggressively presented his case about why and how he acquired it and showed that he had a prescription for it, then he may have been given leniency as well.
Is there also someone who has been cleared like Bom? - There was a man who had ordered root powder that had narcotic properties from overseas after hearing that it was effective for ADHD to treat his son. After looking into it and finding no traces of narcotics in the son's body as well as finding that the man did not know about the narcotic properties, he was cleared of suspicion.