Supreme Prosecutors' Office Releases 2024 White Paper on Drug-Related Crime
Number of Drug Offenders Remains Above 20,000 for Two Consecutive Years
Over 60% of Offenders in Their 20s and 30s... Sharp Drop in Teenage Offenders
Record High Number of Foreign Drug Offenders Amid Increasing Resident Population
Prosecution Strengthens Crackdown and International Cooperation to Prevent Spread of Drug Crimes
The number of drug offenders apprehended by investigative authorities has remained in the 20,000 range for two consecutive years.
According to the "2024 White Paper on Drug-Related Crime" published on June 15 by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Narcotics and Organized Crime Division (headed by Chief Prosecutor Noh Manseok), a total of 23,022 drug offenders were apprehended last year. This figure represents a 16.6% decrease from the record high of 27,611 in the previous year, but still exceeds 20,000. It is approximately 20 times higher than the 1,190 cases recorded in 1985, when statistics were first compiled.
The number of drug offenders in Korea hovered around 10,000 after reaching 10,589 in 1999. However, starting around 2015, the widespread use of social networking services (SNS) and the dark web for non-face-to-face online drug transactions led to a sharp increase.
The number decreased slightly from 18,050 in 2020 to 16,153 in 2021, but then rose to 18,395 in 2022 and 27,611 in 2023, setting new records for two consecutive years.
Notably, last year, individuals in their 20s and 30s accounted for more than 60% of all drug offenders.
The number of drug offenders in their 20s and 30s apprehended last year was 13,996, a slight decrease from 15,051 in 2023. However, the proportion of offenders in their 20s and 30s among all drug offenders increased from 54.5% in 2023 to 60.8% last year.
In contrast, the number of teenage drug offenders dropped to 649 last year, a 56.1% decrease from the record high of 1,477 in 2023. The proportion of teenagers among all drug offenders also fell from 5.3% in the previous year to 2.8% last year.
Although the number of teenage drug offenders had been steadily increasing in recent years, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained that the figure dropped significantly due to government-wide efforts to prevent and crack down on youth drug crimes following the Gangnam private education district drug beverage incident.
By type of crime, the number of drug use offenders and supply offenders (illegal manufacturing, smuggling, and trafficking) were 9,528 and 7,738, respectively, down 12.6% and 15.4% from the previous year. However, the number of manufacturing offenders (illegal manufacturing) rose to 19, three times higher than the six recorded in the previous year. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated, "Due to strengthened crackdowns on drug smuggling from overseas, there has been an increase in attempts to manufacture drugs domestically after importing raw materials."
As the number of foreign nationals residing in Korea has increased, the number of foreign drug offenders has also continued to rise, reaching a record high of 3,232 last year. There has been a surge in illegal distribution cases, particularly in industrial complexes and large-scale farms, involving smuggling and use of drugs via international mail.
The prosecution reported that it is working to prevent the spread of drug crimes by strengthening cooperation with related agencies through the Special Investigation Headquarters for Drug Crimes, enhancing internet drug distribution monitoring systems such as the "E-drug" monitoring system, and establishing an international joint investigation network through the "source-targeting international cooperation system." In addition, the prosecution has actively advocated for stricter sentencing guidelines for drug crimes, resulting in the Sentencing Commission of the court deliberating and approving enhanced sentencing standards in July last year, such as "maximum life imprisonment for drug crimes involving minors" and "maximum life imprisonment for large-scale drug smuggling and crimes."
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