Prosecutor appeals toddler's one-year jail term... "severe punishment needed"

▲ 유아인(연합뉴스)

Prosecutors have appealed against a first-degree verdict that sentenced actor Yoo Ah-in to a year in prison after he went on trial on charges including habitual drug use.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed an appeal on Thursday, saying it believes a stiffer punishment is needed for actor Yoo Ah-in, who was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 2 million won in a first trial on charges including habitual use of propofol and illegally prescribing sleeping pills in someone else's name.

"Mr. Yoo was sentenced to a sentence that falls far short of the prosecution's request of four years in prison despite the gravity of his crimes, including habitually buying, selling and administering various types of narcotics, including hemp, propofol and zolpidem, over a long period of time, and tampering with evidence to obstruct the judicial process," the prosecution said in its appeal."

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25 (Chief Judge Ji Gui-yeon) sentenced Yoo to one year in prison and a fine of 2 million won on Wednesday. He was also ordered to complete an 80-hour drug rehabilitation education program and pay 1.54 million won in restitution.

The court said that at the time of the first trial, the method, frequency, duration, and quantity of drug purchases were not good, but the sentence was imposed based on the fact that she suffered from sleep disorders and depression, which led her to become a habitual user of medical narcotics, and that she confessed her dependence on drugs.

The court also acquitted him of the charge of being a teacher who smoked marijuana and the charge of destroying evidence.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, had sought four years in prison prior to the first sentence.