"Drug investigations require joint investigations."
On the 30th on the premises of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeonggi, at the Government Joint Drug Crime Investigation Headquarters (the headquarters), First Deputy Head Shin Joon-ho (deputy chief prosecutor) and Police General Manager Ko Hyuk-su (senior superintendent) spoke with one voice about the need to maintain the joint investigation system.
This is because an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that eliminates prosecutors' investigative authority passed the National Assembly's plenary session, putting the joint investigation headquarters at risk of being abolished starting Oct. 2.
The headquarters is an organization centered on prosecutors, bringing together police and civil servants from other administrative agencies, and operates with prosecutors directing and coordinating investigations. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said they conveyed to the National Assembly their view that prosecutors' investigative authority should be recognized at least for the headquarters, but it was not accepted.
In the worst case, the police, the Korea Customs Service, the Korea Coast Guard and local governments would be scattered and have to investigate drug crimes separately. Even members of the headquarters do not know how the organization will be reorganized going forward.
Deputy chief prosecutor Shin said, "There is concern about whether, after dismantling the hard-won investigative know-how and national capability, we can regroup to the same level," adding, "At least the drug headquarters must be maintained. If it disappears, it will be a national loss and we could face a crisis." Ko also said, "It is clear that drug investigations must be conducted in a joint investigation format."
The interviews were conducted separately in Shin's and Ko's offices. Deputy chief prosecutor Shin is a representative "violent crimes expert" within the prosecution, having served as head of the Violent Crimes Investigation Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and as director of narcotics and organized crime planning at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Senior superintendent Ko is a veteran who has investigated major violent and drug cases on the front lines for more than 20 years, including at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's Violent Crimes Investigation Unit.
◇Drug transactions spread via social media… 23,000 narcotics offenders caught last year
The drug headquarters was launched on Nov. 21 last year. Eighty-six specialists from eight agencies gathered: the prosecution, the police, the Korea Customs Service, the Korea Coast Guard, the Ministry of Justice's Korea Immigration Service, the National Intelligence Service, the Financial Services Commission's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It is a "one-team for drug investigations" that consolidates capabilities in investigation, border control, fund tracing and administrative crackdowns.
At the headquarters, information secured by multiple agencies is shared in real time and cooperation is swift, enabling the tracking and arrest of nationwide distribution networks and kingpins. Within six months of its launch, the headquarters booked 235 members of eight drug organizations and detained 109 key figures among them. In April, it also achieved the result of indicting "drug king" Park Wang-yeol while in custody.
The headquarters was launched because drugs have been spreading rapidly in Korea. According to the "2025 White Paper on Narcotics Crimes" published by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, 23,403 narcotics offenders were caught last year. That is a 44.9% increase from 2021 (16,153). The amount of narcotics seized also exceeded 1,000 kilograms for two consecutive years.
Korea is said to be regarded as an "attractive market" among international drug organizations. Deputy chief prosecutor Shin said, "Drugs mainly flow into advanced countries with high purchasing power," adding, "As soon as they pass through the border without being caught, the price can soar up to 100 times that of the production site."
Contactless transactions using social media and Telegram have spread in recent years, expanding the domestic drug market. Ko said, "In the past, transactions took place only with assurances that the identities of seller and buyer would not be exposed," adding, "Now, because transactions can be made without seeing each other's faces via social media, drug transactions have become more active."
◇"Within three months of launch, the headquarters could see the nationwide drug scene" "The police and the prosecution are almost one body"
Most front-line investigative agencies focus on individual drug cases that occur in their jurisdictions, and information is not readily shared with other agencies. So even if drug offenders arrested in different regions obtained drugs from the same organization, it is difficult to detect links between cases.
With the launch of the headquarters, drug cases scattered nationwide can be understood as a single flow of "smuggling-distribution-use." Deputy chief prosecutor Shin said, "Within three months of the launch, the nationwide drug scene began to come into view," adding, "We saw not the trees of individual cases, but the forest of the entire drug distribution network." Ko said, "We immediately recognized, by seeing that the drug packaging methods found in Daegu and Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, were the same, that the supplier was identical. It's a link that would have been missed if agencies had investigated separately."
Thanks to this, the headquarters is succeeding in arresting suppliers beyond distributors. Deputy chief prosecutor Shin said, "If you don't strike the point of supply, even if you catch as many couriers and users as you can, the cell-structured distribution network will keep surviving," adding, "The headquarters is specialized in striking at the origin."
Drug offenders complete transactions in an instant and frequently delete digital evidence such as mobile phone messages. The speed of arrest determines the success of an investigation. At the headquarters, because each agency shares case information in real time in one space and can make immediate decisions, rapid investigations are possible.
Ko said, "At the headquarters, the police and the prosecution are almost one body," explaining, "Because we visit each other's offices multiple times a day, hold meetings, and share information on major cases in real time, everything from warrant requests to issuance happens very quickly."
Recently, by cross-checking a suspect's identity identified through on-site closed-circuit TV with the immigration control system, the headquarters succeeded in apprehending a drug offender at Incheon International Airport just before departure. That was thanks to having staff from the Korea Immigration Service at the headquarters. Ko said, "If it had been the old way of sending official documents and waiting for a reply, the person would already have left Korea."
Deputy chief prosecutor Shin said, "This year, domestic drug organization activity has slowed," adding, "It means our joint investigation approach is working."