Recently, through many media broadcasts, there has been news that Korean celebrities and family members of conglomerate owners were caught using illegal drugs. Koreans are still in shock after hearing this news. Korea has been stringent on drug use, and its efforts for the prevention of drug use have been very exhaustive. For these reasons, Korea was a drug-safe country and had a nickname as a “drug-free nation” for a while. However, the drug problem is increasing these days, so many people are worried about this issue of illegal drugs. Drugs can be easy to make and sell, and purchasing drugs is easy too. That’s why people worry about Korea’s drug enforcement agencies. What if they are already useless or weak? Once, Korea was regarded as a drug-free nation. Why has Korea become vulnerable to illegal drugs?
  South Korea uses the Narcotics Information Management System (NIMS) to validate pharmaceutical usage and to collect information on prescriptions. Among medicinal drugs, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is trying to reduce the dependency and the abuse of zolpidem and propofol. Therefore, the use of these drugs is controlled and has strict guidelines. Korea was the first country in the world to categorize propofol as a drug. To dodge this regulation, people get prescriptions from many hospitals or use another person’s identity to obtain the drugs. There have been many cases of misuse involving these drugs. Also, some hospitals fabricate prescription records and inject drugs into patients illegally. The Korean National Police Agency announced that many patients and hospitals have been caught breaking regulations as the NIMS has not been able to effectively manage the proper use of the drugs.
  Nowadays, smartphones are widely used, and Social Network Services (SNS) have become highly developed. As a result, people have started dealing drugs using online messengers. To avoid regulations, people use gift cards or digital money for payments. Dealers post ads on the internet and spread them quickly through SNS. After that, online messengers help them to sell the drugs easily and directly. Drug delivery is also fast and uncomplicated. The drug problem has increased steadily as the number of drug trafficking cases increased from about 300 in 2014 to 730 in 2018. The problem of teenagers’ purchasing drugs due to curiosity is also becoming severe now. SBS Videomug, which is a Youtube news channel, sent a message to a drug dealer and got a reply within an hour, which shows just how easy people can buy drugs. Park Chang-hyun (’15 Dept. of English Language and Literature) commented, “I did not know that it is so easy to buy drugs. Anybody can try them. When I read the news about the drug problem, I thought the problem was only about a certain class of people, not about us. However, anybody can be exposed to these drugs. I am so shocked.”
  People also have misinformation about the laws and penalties related to illegal drug use. Many people errantly believe that only the seller is penalized. Also, some drug users say that, if they wax all of their body hair, they will pass the drug test. This misinformation is widespread as it is often spread through movies or dramas. Each country’s drug regulations are different. Therefore, people who study or travel abroad have the opportunity to use drugs. People’s curiosity about drugs has grown, and the side effects and adverse effects are sometimes unknown. The government needs to educate the public about drugs and emphasize    the side effects and drug addictions. Under Korea’s nationality principle, it is illegal for Koreans to use drugs in a “drug-legal country.” The government and local administrations have to create some campaigns to provide accurate information and give proper awareness of illicit drugs. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk (Dept. of Police Science of Kunkuk Univ.) said, “Even though it is legal abroad, the Republic of Korea uses the nationality principle. Therefore, it is illegal to use drugs anywhere in the world. Also, both selling and buying drugs are crimes. Selling and buying are all violations of the law, and all violators are subject to punishment. I hope nobody commits an illegal action based on wrong information about the laws.”
  Under the UN criteria, if the drug user population is less than 20 per 100,000 people, a nation would get a degree of “drug-safe country”. However, Korea lost this degree in 2016. Drug’s side effect and drug trading are the severe crime. People have to reform the curiosity of drug through education and need to get awareness. Moreover, members of the legislative body need to revise the law adjusting the current circumstance. Therefore, relevant government ministries should not neglect the supervision of a drug. Also, the government should enlarge budgets on drug rehabilitation. In addition, society should make efforts to prevent the recurrence of drug crimes. If someone uses drug against one’s will, one should visit the nearest police station and has to conduct a urine test. If there is a drug user nearby you, people should help to get rehabilitation program and try to help them escape from the drug. Everyone must try to keep safe, clean nation from a drug again.

By Lim Chae-won l cw39@cbnu.ac.kr