▲ Drug seized by police from a drug manufacturing ring in housing areas near universities (Source: The Kyunghyang Shinmun)

Over the past five years, the number of drug offenders apprehended in South Korea has surged from 16,044 in 2019 to 27,611 in 2013, surpassing 20,000 for the first time. Notably, there has been a sharp increase in cases involving young adults in their 20s involved in drug- related crimes. In August, an incident occurred in a prestigious university alliance club, where hundreds of students were involved in drug distribution and usage. Young adults in need of money are easily lured into so- called ‘Dropper’ jobs, which involve transporting drugs. Drug organizations demand documents such as resident registration certificates from these individuals. They also threaten those who wish to quit their job by stating that they will expose their personal information, trapping them in a vicious cycle of crime.

What are the reasons that young adults in their 20s are easily entangled in drug crimes? Their familiarity with the internet and social media platforms like Google and X (formerly Twitter) allows them to access drug- related sites with just a simple search. Furthermore, enticing phrases such as ‘high-paying part- time jobs’ and ‘guaranteed daily earnings of over 1 million won’ lure young people into getting involved with drug organizations. Once they join, they face significant threats that make it nearly impossible to leave. Recently, the rise of messaging apps like Telegram, which guarantees anonymity, has further increased accessibility to these drug organizations.

According to the police, the number of drug suppliers apprehended in the first half of this year reached 2,725, an increase of 636 compared to 2,089 in the first half of 2023. Additionally, data presented at the ‘Gyeongnam Drug Elimination Collaborative Agency Network Symposium’ held on the 30th of last month revealed that the number of drug offenders in their teens surged from 239 in 2019 to 1,477 in 2023. The number of drug offenders in their 20s also rose from 3,521 to 8,368 over the same period. Both age groups have shown a consistent upward trend. Once involved with a drug organization, individuals who initially joined with the sole intention of earning money may eventually find themselves turning into drug users. According to Article 59 of the Narcotics Control Act, anyone found in possession, ownership, use, or management of psychotropic drugs or substances containing psychotropic drugs is subject to a minimum of one year in prison. Under Article 6 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics, those who make a business out of drug trafficking face at least three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.

In response to the growing spread of drug- related crimes, efforts from various sectors of society are ongoing. SRT operator SR (Korea’s National Railroad) conducted an educational campaign from September 9th to 12th, highlighting the dangers of drug abuse and misuse. The program also offered participants a virtual reality experience to simulate the harmful effects of drugs. On the 5th of last month, the Korea Alcohol and Drug Addiction Prevention Movement held an ‘Alcohol and Drug Addiction Prevention Campaign’ at Gwangalli Beach in Busan under the theme ‘No to Alcohol and Drug Addiction, Yes to Health!’ In addition, to prevent the spread of drug crimes on university campuses, 10 universities— including Kangwon National University, Korea University, and Jeonbuk National University— out of 491 nationwide, have partnered with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to run ‘drug prevention promotional booths.’ However, this number is far from sufficient.

The Director of the Korea Association Against Drug Abuse stated, “There is a lack of personnel responsible for education within schools, and no educational materials for them to reference. As a result, specialist instructors are relying on online resources to educate students.” He emphasized, “Just as school police in the U.S. are dedicated to drug prevention education, Korea also needs to assign school health teachers or other personnel to take charge of prevention education and swiftly develop standardized, tailored teaching materials for instructors. A representative from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, “We are developing various types of content, such as webtoons, that appeal to young people in order to enhance the effectiveness of prevention education. Additionally, we plan to introduce a certification system for drug prevention educators to train systematic and professional personnel.” Prolonged drug use can result in severe brain damage, respiratory suppression, coma, and even death. By recognizing the severity of drug- related crimes, there is a pressing need to strengthen prevention and education efforts across society. Moreover, attention and support are required to ensure that young adults in their 20s, the future leaders of society, are not lured into drug- related crimes.

By Yoon Hye-won, cub-reporter  flipp1005@naver.com

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