A South Korean man has been sentenced to death for drug trafficking in China, while four other South Koreans also have received severe sentences.

A court in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on Friday sentenced to death a 44-year-old South Korean, who is only identified by his surname Hwang, for smuggling 15-point-nine kilograms of methamphetamine into China and selling it in 2009.

The court sentenced two others to “suspended death penalties” while the remaining two convicts were given a life sentence and a 15-year jail term.

A foreign ministry official in Seoul said that the government will consider appealing for clemency, noting that China severely punishes drug offenders.