At His Own Hospital with a Female Acquaintance... 'Drug Crime Doctor' Hits Record High

Increase in Medical Professionals Involved in Drug Crimes... Already 300 This Year
"Awareness of Risks in Handling Propofol and Others Has Weakened"

The number of doctors caught by the police as drug offenders has approached 300 this year. It is expected to reach the largest scale ever recorded.

Drug offenders refer to those who directly use or prescribe narcotics, psychotropic drugs, marijuana, etc., as well as those who manufacture, distribute, or possess them.

According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Yang Bu-nam, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 294 doctors were caught as drug offenders from January to October this year.

The number of medical personnel caught as drug offenders was 186 in 2020, 212 in 2021, and 186 in 2022.

Assuming about 30 doctors are caught each month, it is highly likely that the number will exceed last year's 323 by the end of this year. This would be the highest number since statistics began to be compiled.

Until 2022, the police counted drug offenders among medical personnel by grouping doctors, nurses, and others together.

Environment with Easier Access to Drugs Compared to Other Occupations

Doctors are in an environment where they can be more easily exposed to drug crimes compared to other occupations because they directly handle narcotics such as propofol for medical purposes. In South Korea, the professions legally allowed to handle narcotics are limited to a few, including doctors, dentists, Korean medicine doctors, and veterinarians.

Yoon Heung-hee, a professor in the Department of Global Addiction Rehabilitation Counseling at Namseoul University, said in a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency, "With the recent increase in drug-related crimes mainly among young people, doctors of the same generation may also be more susceptible to temptation."

In fact, on the 18th, a male doctor in his 30s was urgently arrested for administering propofol with a female acquaintance at his own hospital.

In April, an incident occurred where Mr. A, a famous hospital director in Gangnam, Seoul, habitually administered propofol and other drugs to dozens of patients, and even Mr. A's wife died from propofol addiction.

Strengthened crackdowns and a more thorough drug management system are also cited as factors contributing to the increase in drug offenders.

Drug case specialist lawyer Park Jin-sil said, "As monitoring of the Narcotics Integrated Management System (NIMS) has become stricter, illegal and abusive prescriptions have been increasingly detected."

In the past, diverting narcotics or falsely recording them in the system was less likely to be caught by the surveillance networks of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and investigative agencies, but now the risk has increased significantly.

Lawyer Park said, "Doctors need to have the awareness to prescribe narcotics carefully, not thinking that what happens after the prescription is the patients' responsibility, and education on this should also be strengthened."