South Korea Penetrated by Drugs, Over 7,000 Drug Offenders in the First Half of the Year

7,701 People in the First Half of This Year, a 29% Increase from Last Year
Teen Drug Offenders Nearly Reach Total of Past Year
Assemblyman Usangbeom: "Must Eradicate Drug Distribution and Sales Organizations"

Over the past four years, more than 10,000 drug offenders have been arrested annually. This year, more than 7,000 were reported in just the first half of the year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to data received by Yusangbeom, a member of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, from the National Police Agency on the 29th, the annual number of drug offenders, which remained in the 8,000 range in 2018, increased to over 10,000 since 2019. The numbers rose to 10,411 in 2019, 12,209 in 2020, 10,626 in 2021, and then slightly decreased to 12,387 last year. However, this year, the total reached 7,701 in just the first half, marking about a 29% increase compared to the same period last year (5,988).

In particular, teenage drug offenders increased 2.83 times from 104 in 2018 to 294 in 2022 over four years. The first half of this year recorded 273 cases, approaching last year's annual total.

By drug type, offenders of psychotropic drugs such as Philopon and Ecstasy increased the most, from 67 in 2018 to 241 in 2022. Representative Yu stated, "The police and prosecution must mobilize all investigative efforts to root out drug distribution and sales organizations," adding, "The entire broken national drug control system must be reviewed to regain the status of a former drug-free country."

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