SEAJust General Assembly Held in Seoul... Han Dong-hoon: "Now Is the Golden Hour to Stop Drug Crimes"

by Kim HyeongMin

Published 26 Apr.2023 13:10(KST)

Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, emphasized on the 26th, "Just as there is a golden hour for emergency treatment, now is the golden hour to protect the lives and safety of our citizens from drug crimes."

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is delivering the opening remarks at the Southeast Asia Cooperation Network General Assembly held at a hotel in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul on the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 26th, Minister Han referred to the recent 'Gangnam Academy District Drug Drink' incident during the opening ceremony of the 'Southeast Asia Cooperation Network (SEAJust)' annual meeting held at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun, stating that this case "is an example showing that drugs distributed by international organizations are infiltrating everyday life and serves as the final warning that drug crimes must be eradicated immediately."

He added, "To dismantle international criminal organizations involved in drug smuggling and voice phishing and to thoroughly recover criminal proceeds, cooperation and collaboration between countries are absolutely necessary," and urged, "During this Seoul meeting, please seek ways to move forward together toward the realization of justice and the rule of law by sharing each other's experiences and best practices."

The meeting, which opened that day, is co-hosted by our Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and will be held in Seoul until the 28th. This is the first in-person meeting since the establishment of SEAJust. SEAJust is a comprehensive judicial cooperation network in Southeast Asia supported by the UNODC. It was created in March 2020 for the central criminal justice cooperation agencies of Southeast Asian countries to exchange and cooperate officially and unofficially. Notably, it was established as part of the 'Southeast Asia Corruption and Serious Crime Response Cooperation Network Establishment and Investigation Capacity Enhancement' project (Korea Project), conducted under the memorandum of understanding between our Ministry of Justice and UNODC.

Currently, 14 countries including the 9 ASEAN countries, our country, and Australia are members. Our Ministry of Justice joined on January 27 to facilitate extradition of criminals and acquisition of evidence located abroad. The meeting was attended by 12 member countries as well as invited countries such as the United States, China, Japan, and Indonesia.