The Korean National Police Agency National Office of Investigation (NOI) said on the 11th it will push special measures to block the domestic inflow of new drugs and respond to transnational crime.
The Korean National Police Agency first formed a joint "new drug response council" with eight agencies, including the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Ministry of Education, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Customs Service, the Korea Coast Guard, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the National Forensic Service, and the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit. Centered on the council, it will launch all-out activities to prevent the spread of new narcotics, including prevention and publicity, advance blocking, crackdowns on smuggling and distribution, treatment and rehabilitation, and international cooperation.
In particular, the police and the Korea Customs Service will establish a cooperation system to share information on smuggling and distribution and carry out joint crackdowns. The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety and the Seoul Metropolitan Government will closely monitor and block illegal advertisements and sales related to new narcotics in the online drug distribution market.
In addition, through the National Forensic Service, it plans to quickly analyze new substances that evade the law and designate them as temporary narcotics. It also set a goal to track upper-level figures and recover criminal revenue by tracing drug crime funds through suspicious transaction analysis (FIU).
The market for new narcotics distribution is growing rapidly, especially among young people. The number of people arrested for crimes related to psychotropic drugs increased from 10,326 in 2024 to 10,896 last year. During the same period, the amount seized jumped from 381 kg to 448 kg.
The number of people arrested for online drug offenses was 5,341 last year, more than double the 2,608 five years earlier. The number of drug offenders in their teens to 30s also increased from 6,255 in 2020 to 8,492 last year. In particular, their share rose from 51.2% to 63.5%.
Acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Yu Jae-seong said, "We will strengthen investigations and crackdowns as well as prevention and publicity at the same time to build a safe society that people can feel."