MFDS Allocates 37.7 Billion KRW Budget for Narcotics Safety Management Project

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 7th that it has allocated a budget of 37.7 billion KRW for narcotics safety management projects, an 85% increase from this year's 17.4 billion KRW.

Photo of drug seizure by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency

The main contents of the narcotics safety budget include ▲ nationwide expansion of narcotics addiction rehabilitation centers ▲ expansion of narcotics harm and risk prevention education tailored to different groups ▲ development of customized narcotics prevention and rehabilitation programs ▲ strengthening of public campaigns to prevent drug misuse ▲ establishment of a new 24-hour narcotics addiction prevention and rehabilitation telephone counseling center.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has allocated 7.3 billion KRW to expand narcotics addiction rehabilitation centers nationwide. Until now, these centers have only been established in Seoul, Busan, and Daejeon, creating regional limitations for residents outside these three areas to receive tailored prevention counseling and addiction rehabilitation programs. Next year, the ministry plans to complete the establishment of narcotics addiction rehabilitation centers in all 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, including the current three cities of Seoul, Busan, and Daejeon, so that all citizens can conveniently receive integrated recovery support services?from education, counseling, rehabilitation, to social reintegration?at centers located within their communities.

Customized prevention education without blind spots for youth and vulnerable groups will also be expanded. This is in response to the recent trend of decreasing age of first-time offenders in narcotics-related crimes and the increase in illegal narcotics offenses among youth, who represent the future generation. To this end, the ministry has allocated 4.7 billion KRW in the budget.

Director Oh Yu-kyung stated, "We will actively utilize the more abundant resources compared to previous years through whole-of-government efforts to effectively harness all available capabilities to achieve victory in the war against drugs."

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