Gwangju City Councilor Lee Myung-no: "Gwangju City Must Strengthen Support for Drug Addiction Treatment"

Only One Case of Addiction Treatment and Protection History in the Past 5 Years

Although drug offenders are steadily increasing in the Gwangju area, it has been pointed out that treatment, protection, and management of drug addicts are weak.

On the 6th, Lee Myung-no, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council, urged the city of Gwangju to strengthen the system for supporting addiction treatment during the administrative audit.

It was revealed that only one drug addict received hospitalization and treatment cost support in the past year.

According to data secured by Councilor Lee Myung-no, while drug offenders nationwide increased by 45.8%, Gwangju saw a 99% increase to 1,595 people over five years. However, he pointed out, along with video materials, that no related treatment or protection measures have been taken, comparing the situation to Portugal and the United States in 2001, indicating that the golden time has been missed.

Among the 24 specialized institutions for drug addiction treatment and protection designated by presidential decree, 13 fall below standards, including Gwangju’s municipal psychiatric hospital. Councilor Lee explained that while medical personnel and beds are prepared, essential equipment such as serum analyzers and electroencephalogram analyzers meeting the standards are not available.

Councilor Lee stated, “Drug addiction is the root cause that makes all crimes uncontrollable,” expressing regret toward the city of Gwangju for failing to make any improvements such as increasing administrative personnel despite repeatedly pointing out these issues during administrative audits and standing committee meetings.

He criticized that despite 1,595 drug offenders being arrested in Gwangju over five years, there has been no cooperation with investigative agencies because crime data related to mental illness patients has not been exchanged with the National Police Agency.

He added, “Many experts emphasize the importance of a ‘therapeutic approach,’” and urged, “The government should significantly increase the number of people receiving treatment and protection, expand inpatient treatment, and improve quality accordingly, securing a much larger budget for treatment and protection next year.”

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