From January through August, authorities confiscated 2,810 kilograms of illegal drugs — 3.5 times the 787 kilograms seized in all of 2024, Democratic Party lawmaker Chung Il-young said Thursday, citing data from the Korea Customs Service.
The haul, equivalent to about 76 million doses based on a typical use of 0.03 grams, spanned a wide range of substances.
"South Korean ports are emerging as a new hub for international drug cartels, and this danger is already materializing," Chung said. "The fact that 56.1 percent of drug offenders arrested over the past five years are in their 20s and 30s is a grave warning that threatens the very fabric of society."
Despite Korea's no-tolerance for drug crimes, police and prosecutors are struggling to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks.
"Young people today use cryptocurrency and false-name bank accounts to buy illegal drugs," said Yoon Heung-hee, professor of global addiction rehabilitation counseling at Namseoul University.
Dealers have shifted from simple package drops to organized relay points, and long-term ties between sellers and buyers often frustrate investigators.
The problem has spread to teenagers, though arrests of offenders in their teens dropped to 649 in 2024 — down 56.1 percent from the previous year after the government crackdown that followed the notorious "attention drink" case.
Still, a pilot survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last year found that 23 of 1,800 respondents aged 14 to 24 admitted to drug use, or 1.3 percent. Experts believe the true figure is far higher, given the clandestine nature of drug crimes.
"Drugs are easily accessed through illegal websites, free webtoons, and social media," said Lee Hae-kook, psychiatry professor at the Catholic University of Korea.
"Teenagers without money sometimes sell amphetamine-based appetite suppressants without knowing what they are, only to end up hospitalized after arrest."
Specialists are calling for a paradigm shift from criminal enforcement to public health. At a National Assembly seminar co-hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Wednesday, Kim Ju-hee, chief executive of biotech firm Inventage Lab, warned that "drug addiction can no longer be dismissed as an individual failing but must be treated as a national public health crisis."
Compared with countries such as the United States and France, Korea lacks insurance coverage, treatment programs, and access to proven therapies. Experts urged the government to fund long-acting injectable medications that improve compliance and reduce relapse, and to integrate prevention into schools.
"Education should begin early, teaching students both which acts are illegal and how specific drug components affect the brain," Lee said. "Without proactive attention from both government and private sector, the crisis will only deepen."
reporter
Kim Dong-young
davekim0807@ajupress.com
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
