Why a ‘THC 0’ label does not work in Korea

After the autumn travel season, similar inquiries keep coming in: someone bought CBD gummies said to help with sleep at a supermarket abroad and was caught at the airport, or someone got a call from customs because of CBD oil they received as a gift. They feel wronged, saying the package stated there was no THC, but that label is not the standard under Korean law.

CBD is cannabis in itself

The Narcotics Control Act (마약류관리법) defines cannabis as the cannabis plant and its resin, products made from them as raw materials, chemically synthesized equivalents specified by Presidential Decree, and mixtures containing any of these (Article 2, item 4). The Enforcement Decree specifies cannabidiol (CBD) as cannabis, together with cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Annex 7-2 of the Enforcement Decree).

So if a product contains CBD, it is cannabis whatever its THC content. The law excludes the seeds, roots and mature stalks of the cannabis plant and products made from them, but even a product labeled as extracted from stalks or seeds is treated as a mixture containing cannabis if it contains CBD.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's guidance on narcotics also describes cannabis as the cannabis plant and its resin, cannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. If the ingredient list of a foreign product shows CBD, cannabidiol or hemp extract, it is safer to treat it as a product containing cannabis ingredients.

How it was brought in decides the penalty

If you brought it in your luggage or received it through a direct overseas purchase, it is importing cannabis. The statutory penalty is life imprisonment or imprisonment of at least five years (Article 58(1)5), so the starting point differs from possessing a product received in Korea, which carries imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won (Article 61(1)6). If you received it as a gift from a friend living in Korea, it may be treated as a matter of receiving and possession, but if you asked the friend to bring it in or were involved in the process, being an accomplice to importing may come up.

The sentencing guidelines treat importing for one's own use as a special mitigating factor. If you bought it for sleep or pain, you need to show it was for personal use by setting out records of treatment for those symptoms, the quantity ordered and whether purchases were repeated.

Buying it in a country where it is legal, and not knowing

The fact that it was legal in the country where it was sold does not change the judgment under Korean law. If you knew it contained CBD but did not know that was prohibited, it becomes a question of mistake of law, and you escape punishment only if there was a justifiable reason for that belief (Article 16 of the Criminal Act). This standard is not easily met, so it is realistic to also prepare to explain the circumstances at the disposition and sentencing stages.

For cannabis-based medicines that are truly necessary for treatment, there is a separate route: obtaining them through the Korea Orphan & Essential Drug Center, or carrying them in and out of the country for self-treatment with the approval of the Minister of Food and Drug Safety (Article 3(3) of the Enforcement Decree). Products bought from overseas online stores are not regarded as having gone through this procedure, even if a doctor recommended them. Foods made from seeds, such as hemp seed oil, can be distributed only within the limits for trace residues, and oils or capsules marketed for CBD fall outside that range.