Handonghun: "Prosecutors Investigate with Determination to Wage War on 'Drug and Livelihood-Disrupting Crimes'"

Loss of 'Drug-Free Nation' Status... Last Year's Seized Drugs Worth 1.84 Trillion KRW
Prosecutors' Strong Division Merged, Creating 'Drug Investigation' Gap... Supreme Prosecutors' Office to Announce Full Response Plan on 14th

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, instructed the prosecution to investigate the recently spreading drug and livelihood-related crimes with the determination to "fight a war."

On the 13th, the Ministry of Justice ordered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to take strict action against drug crimes and major livelihood-related crimes. The plan is to focus the prosecution's investigative capabilities on drug crimes, voice phishing, jeonse fraud, stalking, sexual crimes, and other livelihood-related offenses, and to block the supply of narcotics itself through cooperation with related agencies, not just investigations.

Recently, due to the diversification of drug transaction methods, the emergence of new low-priced drugs, and large-scale smuggling by international drug organizations, the domestic distribution volume of drugs has surged, spreading drug crimes across various ages and social classes, especially among young people.

With the expansion of highly secure SNS messenger usage, diversification of new non-face-to-face transaction methods such as cryptocurrency, and the emergence of low-priced new drugs, drug crimes are spreading among various ages and classes, including teenagers, people in their 20s and 30s, ordinary housewives, regular office workers, public officials, and educators.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of drug offenders in the first half of this year was 8,575, a 13.4% increase compared to the same period last year (7,562), and supply offenders (smuggling, trafficking, manufacturing, etc.) increased by 32.8% to 2,437 from 1,835 in the same period last year. The market value of narcotics seized last year was approximately 1.84 trillion won, more than eight times that of 2017.

In particular, with the emergence of low-priced new drugs and the activation of online transactions using smart devices, teenagers are easily purchasing and using narcotics. The number of student drug offenders increased fivefold over ten years (105 in 2011 → 494 in 2021), and young people in their 20s and 30s accounted for 56.8% of all drug offenders in the first half of this year.

As this situation continues, South Korea currently exceeds 10,000 annual drug offenders, having already lost its status as a drug-free country. A drug-free country is defined as having 20 or fewer drug offenders per 100,000 people annually.

Furthermore, as the domestic drug market rapidly expands, international drug organizations treat South Korea as a major market, not only attempting large-scale smuggling but also exploiting the country as an easy transit point for international distribution.

The Ministry of Justice plans a comprehensive government-wide response to suppress demand by blocking overseas smuggling and domestic illegal distribution of narcotics while reducing recidivism through treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders.

To block supply, the ministry will actively crack down on smuggling attempts at border points such as airports and ports in cooperation with the Korea Customs Service, and collaborate with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to monitor the entire process of manufacturing, distribution, and use of narcotics in real time to curb illegal distribution and misuse of medical narcotics.

The problem is that the prosecution's strong division responsible for drug crimes was merged with the anti-corruption division in 2017, and following last year's adjustment of investigative authority, prosecutors' direct investigative rights over drug crimes have been restricted, resulting in a reduction in the total volume of drug crime investigations.

When the prosecution directly investigated drug crimes, it seized 20-30% of all drug crime crackdowns and about 40-60% of narcotics seized. Ultimately, as the prosecution effectively stepped back from investigating drug crimes, domestic and international drug distribution offenders have been running rampant.

In response, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon instructed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to ▲ promptly restore the prosecution's drug investigation capabilities ▲ block smuggling and domestic distribution of narcotics by domestic and international drug organizations through strengthened cooperation with related agencies ▲ strengthen effective crackdowns on livelihood-related crimes through cooperative systems such as government joint investigation teams ▲ actively initiate investigations and strengthen punishments for cases involving large-scale damage and concealment of criminal proceeds.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is scheduled to announce a comprehensive prosecution response plan for drug and livelihood-related crimes on the 14th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.