Korea is no longer a drug-free country

Hello, readers! Today, we are covering:

Index

Zoom In

This Week's Recommendations

Narco-Saints (수리남, 2022)

Don't forget to leave your feedback below!

Korea is no longer a drug-free country

Writer: Daeho Park, Jiyoung Kang

Researcher: Yul Jun

Editor: Aleya Sharif

Senior Editor: Regine Armann

Editor-in-Chief: Fred McNulty

Illustrator: Ah-young Kim

Don Spike (돈스파이크), a 45-year-old Korean composer and businessman, was recently arrested on drug charges. He had been renting party rooms at several hotels in Gangnam, Seoul, (서울 강남) and organizing “drug parties” since last April. At the time of his arrest, a number of his acquaintances, both male and female, were having a “get-together” in one of these rented rooms and were also charged on the spot.

The methamphetamine (필로폰), also casually known as “crystal meth” or simply “meth” in English, that was in his possession at the time, about 30 grams, amounted to 1,000 individual doses (Korean link). On September 27, Nowon Police Station (노원경찰서) in Seoul announced that they had arrested Don Spike at 8 pm the day before and confiscated the drugs.

When a single dose of meth, is ingested, dopamine is immediately released by the brain, the user feels an immediate euphoric "rush", which can last for up to 30 minutes and is followed by the so-called "high." During this period, users often feel "smarter" and more confident than usual, and many become delusional about their own abilities. The high can last 4 to 16 hours, but can be maintained for much longer by smoking or injecting more methamphetamine. During such a binge, the user becomes hyperactive both mentally and physically, and the initial rush becomes smaller with each new dose. Withdrawal symptoms such as exhaustion, abdominal pain, headache, hallucinations, and sleep disturbances appear within 1 week to 1 month.

The opening of a restaurant called BBQ House in the Lotte World Mall (BBQ 하우스 롯데월드몰점), which Don Spike planned to run in the near future, also suffered a setback due to this incident. Lotte said it is considering the possibility of severing its relationship with BBQ House. In addition to this, all videos on Don Spike’s YouTube Channel “Gogiri Don Spike (고기리 돈스파이크)” have been set to “private”.

Drug crimes in Korea: the current state

In the past, Korea was considered a “drug-free country” by many. However, this perception has recently changed. News related to drug abuse are more common and, in particular, it seems to be rapidly spreading in the entertainment industry and among famous influencers. As these specific types of crimes increase, the police, prosecution, and courts are planning to take a more stringent response (Korean link), to control the increase in crime through punishments.

The biggest concern is that the number of identified drug offenders in Korea is increasing day by day. The number of drug offenders under the age of 19 (Korean link) has risen ten times over the past 10 years. The number of drug offenders in their 20s to 30s has also increased significantly.

Drug crimes in Korea: context

Drug crimes related to international criminal organizations (Korean link) such as the Japanese Yakuza, the Chinese Triad, and the Russian Mafia, have rapidly increased in Korea over the past 4 years. This shows that international crime organizations are trying to make Korea a “base” for their drug trade. According to the National Intelligence Service (국가 정보원), these organizations are known for smuggling drugs in official import/export cargoes and distributing them in Korea, or smuggling them out to a third country to conceal the original source.

There are many ways to purchase drugs. They are in fact distributed so easily that anyone can find a dealer by doing some simple research. While the “dark web (다크웹)” was the common trading place in the past, SNS is much more widely used as the main route of distribution now. Drugs are bought and sold using cryptocurrencies (암호화폐), such as Bitcoin and Ripple, that can be exchanged to cash anywhere and are difficult to track by the police and authorities.

The numbers of young drug offenders, in particular, are on the rise, adding to concerns. According to the National Police Agency (경찰청), 5,988 drug offenders (Korean link) were arrested in the first 6 months of this year, up 17% from the same period last year. Among them, those in their 20s and 30s accounted for 54% of the total. The number of drug-abusing teenagers has also tripled in the past 3 years (104 in 2018 → 309 in 2021).

Many people easily trade drugs using Telegram, a secure messaging app that guarantees anonymity. After paying with virtual currencies, the drugs are delivered by international courier or quick service. Don Spike is also said to have purchased his drugs mainly through Telegram. In addition, as the supply of drugs has increased, the price of a single dose of methamphetamine has recently dropped to around ₩24,000, and unlike traditional drugs administered with syringes, the spread of new drugs that come in the form of jelly, candy, and patches has also increased their accessibility and made them more appealing to young people.

Drugs used as a misogynistic weapon

According to the "2021 Drug Crime White Paper (2021 마약범죄백서)” published by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (대검찰청), the proportion of female offenders in drug crimes is steadily increasing. Among psychotropic drugs, methamphetamine is the one that is most widely distributed in Korea. The proportion of female offenders, while still significantly lower than that of male offenders, has been steadily increasing to 18.6% in 2017, 18.7% in 2018, 20.3% in 2019, 23.9% in 2020, and 24.6% in 2021. The proportion of women among drug offenders overall has also not fallen since it first exceeded 20% in 2016. However, a shocking number of women have fallen victim to having narcotics surreptitiously forced onto them.

In February 2019, the Cheongju District Court (청주지방법원) sentenced a man to 1.5 years in prison for spiking his girlfriend’s coffee with 0.04 g of methamphetamine. In October 2018, a similar case was also reported involving a man who mixed 0.04 g of methamphetamine into his girlfriend’s coffee in a hotel room in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do(경기도 포천시). He was also sentenced to 1.5years in prison by the same court. On October 27 last year, the Jeonju District Court (전주지방법원) sentenced a man to 2 years in prison for secretly pouring 0.02 g of methamphetamine into a woman's coffee.

Drugs secretly mixed into someone’s glass are called "Plops." The situation has not improved since the "Burning Sun Incident" (버닝썬 사건) in 2018, which caused a stir in Korea when the regular and organized use of drugs as a means to commit sex crimes at a club in Gangnam was reported to the police by a whistleblower. It was one of the biggest scandals to hit the entertainment industry, as it involved many celebrities and idols.

The Incheon District Court (인천지방법원) sentenced a man to 7 years in prison for convincing a female actor aspirant to go to a motel with him in order to shoot a scene, where he drugged her with Zolpidem, as the beer used in shooting the alleged scene was spiked, and then raped her. The Daegu High Court (대구고등법원) sentenced a man to 5 years in prison for a similar crime, where he spiked a woman’s beer with Zolpidem-based drugs in a karaoke room and also raped her.

The government’s reaction

The Yoon administration plans to conduct a massive crackdown on drug crimes at all levels of government. According to the presidential office and investigative authorities, the so-called "war on drugs" is likely to involve a pan-government investigation team joint with related agencies, including the National Intelligence Service (국정원), the Korea Customs Service (관세청), and the prosecution and police. Seoul, Busan (부산), and Incheon (인천) are considered the top priority areas for the crackdown. The decision is based on the perceived urgency to block the inflow of drugs into Korea, as the presidential office considers the situation very serious.

Although those of all political stripes wish to prevent people from becoming addicted to potentially-deadly narcotics, there are some critics who question the motives of President Yoon Suk-yeol (윤석열). They charge that Yoon is using “war on drugs” rhetoric to distract from what they perceive as scandals and gaffes of his administration; Yoon currently holds a 28% approval rating according to Gallup Korea. Others have pointed toward former authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee (박정희) who is considered the father of Korean anti-drug laws - although he also used these crackdowns as a way to attack his political enemies.

(Decades later, Park’s own son would be arrested for using meth.)

Many non-Korean residents also viewed the announcement of a “war on drugs” with skepticism. One Reddit user commented, “Did they not look at how the 'war on drugs' does in other countries? Cause uh... the drugs usually win.” Other comments focused on South Korean laws against marijuana, a relatively safe and non-addictive drug, penalties for which are much harsher than in most Western nations.

While these comments may range from pithy to myopic, one thing is clear: it will be vital that South Korea not repeat the mistakes that other nations have faced when tackling the drug issue. Although the poll-weary Yoon administration has focused mostly on the harshness of the punishments, providing services for those who suffer from addiction are perhaps even more important. Providing a comprehensive response to this issue will require a coordinated effort within the current administration - and will test what they have learned since assuming power last spring.

This Week's Recommendations

Narco-Saints (수리남, 2022)

Available on Netflix

The South Korean series Narco-Saints (수리남) depicts the story of a businessman, Kang In-gu (강 인구), who finds himself joining the National Intelligence Service (국정원) on a secret mission to crack down a case of a Korean drug lord in Suriname. The 6-episode series is available on Netflix and features a star-studded cast, such as Ha Jung-woo (하정우), Hwang Jung-min (황정민), and Squid Game’s (오징어 게임) very own Park Hae-soo (박해수).

The Korean title is Suriname (수리남), which is also the setting where the story takes place. The real-world government of Suriname was not happy, and has threatened legal action against the South Korean government. Although a lawsuit against the South Korean government would likely go nowhere, the government of Suriname argues that the critically-acclaimed program plays into outdated stereotypes about the country.