South Korea jails 90-year-old woman for laundering son's drug money

A 90-year-old woman in South Korea has been sentenced to one year in jail for laundering approximately $260,800 in drug trafficking profits for her son.

The Incheon district court found that she transferred 386 million won over nine occasions between April 2020 and February 2022, following her son's instructions.

Her son, known as Song, has been imprisoned in Cambodia since 2020 after being convicted of trafficking methamphetamine.

The court noted that the woman had visited Cambodia five times in 2019 and was aware of her son's detention, indicating she knew the funds were illicit.

Judge Wi Eun-suk described the offence as particularly serious, stating that the woman's actions hindered the tracing of illicit profits and contributed to the spread of narcotics.

The court took into account her advanced age and lack of prior drug-related convictions when deciding the sentence.

South Korean authorities are reportedly seeking to extradite Song from Cambodia.

Song also implicated his daughter in the case, who faced charges of receiving and transferring illicit funds totaling over 600 million won.

However, the daughter was acquitted due to insufficient evidence that she knew the money was linked to drug trafficking.

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