The Seoul city government announced on the 26th that it will conduct a concentrated inspection of narcotics mainly around universities until September 30 in conjunction with the start of the semester.
The goal of this inspection is to block the recently spreading throwing method. Throwing involves the seller hiding narcotics in a specific location in advance while the buyer goes to retrieve them.
Earlier, the throwing method was also used in the 2024 university student union drug distribution incident. In that case, a union of 300 individuals was organized around universities in the metropolitan area to distribute and consume narcotics.
The hiding places primarily utilized for the throwing method are facilities within the living area of residents and students. Examples include air conditioning outdoor units, meter boxes, flower beds, telephone poles, and electrical circuit breakers.
On the morning of the day, the Seoul city government conducted the first inspection in the vicinity of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Dongdaemun District at 10 a.m. A joint inspection team of 15 members, composed of the Seoul city government, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Dongdaemun Police Station, and Dongdaemun Health Center, was deployed to inspect facilities suspected of being involved in throwing.
The Seoul city government plans to expand inspections in cooperation with relevant agencies to areas including Hongik University in Mapo District, Chung-Ang University in Dongjak District, and Konkuk University in Gwangjin District.
If narcotics are discovered during the inspection, the police station accompanying the inspection will collect them and proceed with an investigation. Additionally, cases and trends identified on-site will be shared with autonomous districts, police, and universities to establish measures to prevent recurrence.
Kang Jin-yong, head of the health policy division at the Seoul city government, noted, "We aim to raise awareness about the dangers of narcotics hiding methods targeting university students and achieve preventive effects," adding, "We will root out offline distribution and simultaneously implement thorough blocking measures against illegal online advertisements."