Handonghun Orders Establishment of 'Drug and Violent Crimes Division' at Supreme Prosecutors' Office "Must Restore Response Capabilities"

On the 12th, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon instructed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to restore the control tower for drug crime investigations.

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

At the weekly senior officials meeting of the Ministry of Justice that day, Minister Han said, "We must restore the nation's overall capacity to respond to drug and organized crime," and ordered the prompt establishment of a provisional 'Drug and Violent Crimes Division' within the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

He referred to the 'drug beverage' incident that occurred in the academy district of Daechi-dong, Gangnam, stating, "This case shows that drugs are infiltrating everyday life, so it is necessary to activate nationwide investigative capabilities."

Since the reorganization of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is not a legislative matter, the Ministry of Justice can swiftly proceed with the establishment of the Drug and Violent Crimes Division following Minister Han's directive.

Previously, under the Moon Jae-in administration, due to adjustments in investigative authority, the Violent Crimes Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was merged with the Anti-Corruption Division to form the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division, and the drug and organized crime divisions were reduced to the Drug and Organized Crime Division.

Minister Han pointed out that during the previous administration, adjustments were made to prevent prosecutors from directly investigating drug crimes, which significantly damaged the prosecution's capacity to respond to drug crimes. In particular, regarding the current Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division, he criticized, "The Anti-Corruption Division investigates white-collar crimes, and the Violent Crimes Division investigates drug and organized crimes. Having one division oversee both is like having one teacher teach both Korean and mathematics," adding, "This is not an area that can be roughly mixed and neglected."

He also urged not only the prosecution but all related departments of the Ministry of Justice, including the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau, the Correction Headquarters, and the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters, to operate their drug crime response capabilities to the fullest with a sense of mission.

Minister Han said, "South Korea was not originally this kind of country," and warned, "If we fail to stop this now, it will become an irrecoverable situation later, and when we look back on this time, we will truly regret it."

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