"Promising a Drug-Free Society" MFDS Holds Ceremony Commemorating International Day Against Drug Abuse

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 26th that it held a drug eradication ceremony and an awards ceremony for meritorious persons under the theme "A Healthy Society Without Drugs! A Precious Promise for the Future" at the Samjung Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to mark the 37th World Drug Day.

World Drug Day (June 26 every year) is a commemorative day designated by the United Nations (UN) in 1987 to raise awareness about the abuse and dangers of narcotics and to expand interest and participation in drug eradication. In Korea, commemorative ceremonies have been held annually on this day since 1991, and it was designated as a legal memorial day in 2017.

At the ceremony, Oh Yu-kyung, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, said, "We are mobilizing all government capabilities to protect the public from drugs through monitoring the inflow of narcotics, cracking down on distribution, judicial processing, treatment, and rehabilitation," adding, "I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the related agencies and government officials who are working to eradicate illegal drugs in their respective positions, along with the awardees today." She also added, "The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will gradually implement the 'Mandatory Confirmation of Patient Medication History' to prevent duplicate prescriptions when prescribing medical narcotics by utilizing the Narcotics Integrated Management System, and will actively support the healthy social reintegration of drug addicts by strengthening the social rehabilitation system centered on drug addiction rehabilitation centers."

This ceremony proceeded with the order of awarding meritorious persons for drug eradication, introducing a documentary video on recidivism prevention, and releasing a promotional video for drug abuse prevention. The awards for meritorious persons for drug eradication included 14 medals and commendations, such as the Order of Civil Merit, Dongbaekjang, awarded to Park Young-dal, Chairman of the Korea Drug Eradication Movement Headquarters, who contributed to early detection of drug addicts in the community and supported healthy social reintegration based on treatment and rehabilitation institutions, and the Order of Service Merit awarded to Hong Wan-hee, Chief Prosecutor of Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, who contributed to the arrest of domestic drug offenders including those who provided methamphetamine to minors and the establishment of an international cooperation investigation system. Additionally, 30 people received commendations from the Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Furthermore, a documentary featuring the story of an actual drug addiction recovery person who quickly returned to society with the help of the drug addiction rehabilitation center and highlighting the dangers of drug addiction was screened. In addition, a promotional video titled "I am not weak, We are strong!" featuring Hwang Min-hyun, a singer and actor popular among teenagers, as a promotional model for drug abuse prevention, was also released.

A Ministry of Food and Drug Safety official stated, "We will continue to strengthen the narcotics safety management system to protect public health from drug abuse and support the prompt social reintegration of drug addicts."

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