Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tired of LA]

i've found myself facing some legal problems with the police. not really sure what i should be doing next, if things don't go too well. i'll start from the beginning.

i left korea after finishing my first year of teaching in busan at the end of february. after i left i did some traveling around asia and europe. i found a job and returned to korea, this time seoul, at the end of june with no problems. everything seemed to be going good until i went to pick up my arc card in july, where i was arrested on the spot. after being taken to the police station and put in a holding cell i was told that i had a warrent for my arrest issued in busan concerning a drug charge. i was also told that i would be sent to busan later that day. i contacted the embassy and they said they cannot offer legal advice and that they can only give me a list of lawyers and make sure i am being treated fairly. later i was handcuffed and taken to seoul station with two police officers who accompanied me to busan on the ktx, all while handcuffed. i was then taken to another police station where i spent the night. the following day i was taken to the prosecutors office where they told me that i was brought in for questioning and that i was not under arrest. they told me that the police had intercepted a package of marijuana at incheon international airport that was addressed to me. they showed me the package, it was a large manilla envelop with my old address in busan on it. it was intercepted at the beginning of june. at that time i was traveling in europe. i was not in the states when it was mailed and i was not in korea when it arrived. it was mailed from maryland, which i have never been to. i live on the opposite coast. i submitted to a urine test which came up negative, at which point they uncuffed me. i then answered questions for about four hours. i also submitted to a hair test for marijuana and a handwriting test to compare the handwriting on the package. i admitted to smoking marijuana before, in 2001 while i was in university. probably not smart, but i didn't have anything to hide. i was released in busan and left to find my own way back to seoul. they told me everything would be cleared up in a month.

a month later, my gf calls the police and they tell me that they need another writing sample because the first one wasn't a large enough sample. they also said that they would need another hair sample because the first one was inconclusive, not enough hair. my hair is cut really short. a buzz cut all around. the next week they tell me its not needed, but the following week they change their minds again and said i need to go in. two weeks later they tell me to go to the prosecutors office in seoul to give a hair sample. i give another hair sample and was told it would be finished in a month.

the next month my gf calls again and they said that the national lab was going under construction and that all testing is on hold and that it will be another month.

fast forward to monday. my gf calls and they tell her that i have tested positive for marijuana. i have no clue as how this is possible since i haven't smoked since 2001. i went to amsterdam while in europe, but didn't smoke anything. i doubt i enhaled enough from second hand smoke to test positive. that plus i cut my hair every couple weeks. they said i will need to go in for questioning, but it will be next week because they need to find a translator.

yesterday my girlfriend and i go see a lawyer. probably should've done this sooner, but i thought everything would be cleared up. at first it didn't look like he was believing me until my girlfriend said that we haven't seen the test results. he said then that the police is trying to trick me.
that they're trying to make me nervous so that i confess to something. that made my girlfriend and i feel better. he said that i should just stick to my story, ask for a retest and not sign anything. also that i should not trust the translator they provide.

today, my gf gets another call from the police. they said that they will show me the test results and that they will not give me a retest. they said that i have two options. first is to fight the results, get a lawyer and challenge it in court. my second option is to admit to it and pay a fine.

i do not want to admit to anything i didn't do. however, i also don't want to spend anymore time in jail for something i didn't do. i feel like they just want to say they caught the person who did it, whether that person is guilty or not. they only reason i returned to korea and have stayed is because of my gf.

as for who could've done this. the only people who would know my address from last year are my former co-workers. one of them returned to korea at the end of may to work at the same school and lived next door to me. he is also from washington dc. i'm not sure if he did it or not, but it doesn't really matter now since he cut his contract short and left korea. he is currently in africa. i sent him a message asking him if he screwed me over or not after he left korea, but i have yet to receive a reply.

don't know what i expect from telling people, but i just don't really know what i should do should they arrest me and say its either a year in jail if you take it to court or you can pay a fine and continue working.

[EricaSmile84]

Pay the fine and the get the hell out of Korea-- go back to America. That is some really scary shit that happened to you. Basically, you got arrested for someone sending pot to your old address-- you didn't "order" it so someone is just trying to screw you. Then you tested positive for pot when you knew you were clean-- someone's just trying to keep you screwed. That is so unfair but the worst part is that it's in a foreign country... you're the underdog and you can't do shit about it besides get out.

Yikes, it's stories like this that makes me want to go back to where I came from. You really can't depend on anyone to help you when you're overseas.

Good luck.

[crossmr]

Talk with the lawyer. If you don't like what he's telling you, get another lawyer. If you still don't like it, do whatever you need to to get out of the country and go home.

[Pooty]

Was your name on the envelope? If it wasn't, I wouldn't accept their harrassment. Get another lawyer that will fight for you. Get an independent test done asap.

[tired of LA]

[Pooty]

Here's what it sounds like really happened.

You leave the country. Old co-worker knows you're gone, so he decides to send himself some grass, knowing you won't be there to accept it, but if it makes it through - he's got himself some weed to smoke without risking his own name.

[esetters21]

[moosehead]

yeah - who was living there when it was mailed? and why didn't they arrest him?

also - have you checked the legal info in the sticky on this forum? it might help.

as for those who are telling you to leave the country - DUDE - that's the LAST thing you want to do - passports everywhere are getting globalized - you really don't want to have some kind of drug arrest/incident following you around forever do you? or worse, leave and have to come back? and what if they have something on your pp to hold you up at the airport? what then?

no, you need to straighten this out - !! get real! whatever's going on, there are some real d*cks there messing around with you.

you need to light a fire under someone - and if you're paying a lawyer, that's a place to start - this needs to be straightened out, completely.

finally - has anyone even verified it was marijuana that was mailed? that is, is the evidence available for independent examination? make sure it is - no evidence, no crime, and they really owe you a big time apology - maybe even reparations? for slander?

you are getting screwed over, no two ways about it!

good luck - please keep us posted -

[tired of LA]

[moosehead]

[tired of LA]

Okay, so I went to the Legal Aid Office in my area and talked to an attorney, to get another opinion on what I should do. He basically said the same thing as the other attorney I talked to. Although he didn't think the police were lying about the positive test result, he said that they do get false positives. He said that I don't need a lawyer yet, and that I should just answer the questions truthfully and ask for another drug test. He also said that should charges be filed, I would be able to get a free public defense attorney. I hope it doesn't come to that.

I also asked if it is possible to get an independent hair test done, but he said that its only possible to get it done through the police.

[moosehead]

did you ask him WHY you should have another test done?

*because* they've yet to prove anything yet??

and did you insist that you feel you are being harassed and are very unhappy about it??

ok, I know this is just the internet and you don't know me from Eve, but I'm telling you if this was ME, I would not take any more tests - heck - I wouldn't have taken any to begin with without a lawyer and an explanation, etc.

maybe you can make a statement and have it translated and filed with the Prosecutor's office - or similar to whatever the District Attorney would be referred to here as.

It really just sounds like no one believes you are innocent - and who can blame them with the group mentality here and the bias against E Teachers?

you are fighting an uphill battle, my friend.

my other suggestions still hold. they've checked your luggage and given you a seat on their train - better get off before it's too late!

[poet13]

It sucks that this is happening OP.

Why don't you get your own test done?

[MrRogers]

get rid of those two lawyers you talked to ... they sound worthless or afraid to be involved....

also, DO NOT ADMIT TO ANYTHING, NOR SIGN ANYTHING, don't give in to them and make yourself sound guilty

[moosehead]