Drug Measures... Ministry of Health and Welfare "Support for Treatment and Protection Institutions" MFDS "Strengthening Surveillance of Medical Narcotics"

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 18th at the Cabinet meeting that they have prepared measures including support for treatment institutions and strengthening the detection of new drugs in response to the recent surge in drug-related crimes.

Amid growing concerns about the daily infiltration of drugs, the government discussed the "Comprehensive Measures for Drug Control: Achievements and Future Plans" by each ministry at the Cabinet meeting presided over by President Yoon Seok-yeol on the same day.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will increase the operating expenses and treatment cost support rates so that 24 designated hospitals as treatment and protection institutions can perform drug addiction treatment functions. Additionally, they will promote a review to improve medical fees for treatment and protection.

Furthermore, a system will be established to link treatment and rehabilitation so that medical staff can continuously manage addicts after the completion of treatment and protection.

The number of nationwide addiction rehabilitation centers operated with national budget will be expanded from the existing two to three, and financial support will also be provided to private addiction rehabilitation facilities (DARC).

Customized rehabilitation programs applicable to various situations will be developed, considering the condition of drug addicts (age, administered drugs, family environment, etc.).

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will strengthen monitoring of illegal distribution of medical narcotics by analyzing prescription and administration information from the integrated narcotics management system, which contains about 600 million records.

In addition, a focused reporting period for illegal activities such as narcotics distribution and administration will be operated from the 24th to May 31st, actively encouraging confidential public reports and other whistleblowing activities.

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