Drug-related crimes by minors have increased six-fold in the past four years... ”Punishments should be strengthened” - South Korea

An analysis has shown that the number of drug-related crimes has increased 1.7-fold over the past four years, with drug-related crimes committed by juveniles in particular increasing dramatically by more than six-fold.
On the 7th, the office of Kim Seung Soo, a member of the People Power Party, presented the "2023 Drug-Related Crime White Paper" issued by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
According to the analysis, the number of drug-related crimes in South Korea as a whole increased by 1.7 times from 16,044 in 2019 to 27,611 last year. Of these, drug-related crimes among teenagers (young people)
During the same period, the number of people accused of drug-related crimes rose 6.2-fold from 239 to 1,477. Rep. Kim Seung Soo cited the lack of punishment for these crimes as the main reason for the increase in drug-related crimes.
Looking at the current state of first instance rulings for drug crimes over the past three years, nearly 60% of cases ended with light punishments such as fines or less than one year of probation.
Kim Seung Soo's office said, "Due to a lack of personnel, only 23 of the more than 300 police stations nationwide are equipped with specialized drug teams."
The Ministry of Political Science and Safety (equivalent to Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) and the Ministry of Justice (equivalent to Japan's Ministry of Justice) need to come up with measures with the determination to wage war on drugs."