[Chuiyakgukga]⑪Enough to Fund Four Space Launch Vehicles... The Annual 'Drug Bill' Hits 10 Trillion Won

■ Chapter 3. National Economy Shaken by the Drug Economy


Sungsoo Park Updates Research on “Social Cost”

Equivalent to Funding the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle Project Four Times

Per-Person Cost Approaches 6 Billion Won Considering Crime Patterns

It has been found that the social cost South Korea bears due to drug-related crimes is nearly 10 trillion won per year. This amount is enough to develop the next-generation launch vehicle, a key project for the nation’s “Leap to Space Power,” four times over, with funds to spare. This figure includes not only the costs of responding to these crimes, but also law enforcement, punishment, correction, treatment, rehabilitation, productivity losses from unemployment or death, and the pain experienced by people around the offenders. It represents a national loss that goes far beyond a simple fiscal issue, reflecting the collapse of the social safety net.

On May 20, The Asia Business Daily, with advice from Sungsoo Park, Professor of Police Science at Semyung University, updated the study “Analysis of the Social Cost of Harmful Drugs Including Narcotics.” It estimated that, as of last year, the social cost resulting from drug-related crimes was 9.7676 trillion won. In Professor Park's 2016 study, which applied a dark figure multiplier of 28.57 times, the social cost was 4.873 trillion won. The updated estimate took into account a 21.7% rise in prices and a 64.7% increase in crime over the past 10 years.

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The finding that nearly 10 trillion won in social costs is incurred annually means that resources which could have been invested in powering the country’s future are instead being paid as the price of crime. For example, the Korea Aerospace Administration is investing a total of 2.2921 trillion won in developing the next-generation launch vehicle. Due to drug-related crimes, the country is losing enough funds to develop the next-generation space launch vehicle four times over. The Korea Aerospace Administration’s budget for this year is 1.1131 trillion won, equivalent to nine years’ worth of funding.

Professor Park noted, “People often say there are no victims in drug crimes, but the damage simply isn’t visible. In the short term, not only the addicts themselves, but also those closest to them, can all become victims.”

The calculation of social costs includes all expenses from medical and welfare costs for offenders or addicts, to opportunity costs from addicts not participating in productive activities, and criminal justice policy costs associated with law enforcement and punishment. In addition to these tangible costs, Professor Park also factored in intangible costs, such as expenses related to victims of drug crimes and pain and grief (PGS) suffered by family, friends, and others in the surrounding community.

Specifically, “medical and welfare costs” cover health insurance, medical aid, indirect medical expenses, and medical assistance costs. “Productivity loss costs” are calculated by adding productivity reduction, lost work, and lost labor from premature deaths. “Criminal justice costs” refer to the budget allocated for response by police, prosecutors, courts, and correctional facilities. PGS costs are calculated separately for deaths and addiction, based on costs associated with traffic accident fatalities and serious injuries (reflecting the number of drug addicts).

In 2016, the social loss from drug-related crimes was estimated at 1.02371 billion won per person, totaling 168.25333 billion won. The per-person cost represents the sum required over the addict’s lifetime. Professor Park estimated, “Given the current patterns of crime, the social cost per person must now be approaching 6 billion won.”

Sungsoo Park, Professor of Police Science at Semyung University. Photo by Yonhap News

Professor Park diagnosed that cost estimates should also reflect factors such as increased accessibility to digital distribution channels like the dark web and Telegram, as well as variables related to illegal diversion of medical narcotics. This suggests that the actual scale is much larger.

He stated, “It is necessary to assign a weighted value by back-calculating the number of drug sales channels and active users detected on secure messengers, and the actual rate of channel shutdowns and arrests by investigative agencies. If we extract the abnormality rate between prescription data in the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s integrated narcotics management system and actual patient disease codes—focusing on over-prescription, doctor shopping, and other forms of disguised illegal activity—the estimated costs will increase further.”

He especially criticized the fact that every administration so far has regarded drugs as an absolute evil and maintained policies focused solely on harsh criminal punishment. He said, “A purely punitive judicial system has driven these crimes deeper underground, causing drug prices to soar 10 to 30 times higher than overseas, which is a clear failure. While investigative resources should focus on disrupting supply chains, it is urgent to adopt restorative approaches aimed at reducing demand, such as expanding treatment and rehabilitation infrastructure.”

Special Reporting Team｜Jang Heejun, Oh Jieun, Park Hosu, Lee Jiye, Park Jaehyun, Reporters

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