Man arrested after growing cannabis in home with pregnant wife

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it has indicted four people for growing cannabis at home and selling it. One of them, a 37-year-old man surnamed Park, cultivated cannabis in his apartment where he lived with his pregnant wife, officials said.

The four suspects consisted of two groups.

The first duo -- Park and his friend Jung, 38 -- allegedly sold marijuana grown in their respective apartments located in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, from May last year to February this year. Park’s wife, who was pregnant at the time, was living with Park in the apartment where the plant was being cultivated. Park has not been indicted for personal use of cannabis and is not alleged to have endangered the unborn child.

Park and Jung allegedly sold the cannabis via the encrypted messaging app Telegram. They were in possession of cryptocurrency worth approximately 100 million won ($77,000), which prosecutors suspect were profits from their illegal business.

The second pair of two 26-year-olds were accused of running a cannabis lab in a store disguised as a fashion business in central Seoul from December 2021 to January this year.

The pair, identified by their surnames Kwon and Park, brought in equipment needed to cultivate and liquefy cannabis after lying to their landlord about the nature of the business. The lab was located in the basement of a villa, a type of multiplex home in Korea.

Prosecutors have vowed to strengthen monitoring of illegal drug activities on the dark web.

Although there are some pharmaceutical exceptions, cannabis cultivation and recreational use remains strictly forbidden under Korean law. A violation is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.