Pubdate: Thu, 16 Dec 2004
Source: Korea Times (South Korea)
Copyright: 2004 The Hankookilbo
Contact:  http://times.hankooki.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/916
Author: Moon Gwang-lip
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

KOREA MAY LOSE 'DRUG-FREE' STATUS

International Drug Rings Allegedly Use the Country As Trafficking Base

South Korea has been recognized as a "drug-free" nation in the 
international community, thanks to its efforts to keep illegal substances 
out of the country since 1989.

Narcotics experts, however, have expressed concern that the nation might be 
deprived of the honor before long.

According to statistics, only 16 out of every 100,000 South Koreans were 
arrested on drug-related charges last year, far lower than 572 out of every 
100,000 Americans in 2000. Comparable figures stood at 411 in Australia, 
and 353 in Thailand in 2001 and 220 in Britain in 1998.

But the number of those arrested for drug-related violations increased from 
6,947 in 1997 to 8,350 in 1998 and 10,589 in 1999, according to the Supreme 
Public Prosecutors' Office. The number stood at 10,304 in 2000, 10,102 in 
2001 and 10,673 in 2002.

Although the number declined to 7,546 in 2003 and 6,529 in the first 10 
months of this year, experts say the country should remain alert. They 
claimed that the drop was simply due to the outbreak of severe acute 
respiratory syndrome (SARS), which prompted drug dealers across Asia to 
reduce their operations during the period, the report said.

Even experts say the number of those arrested stands at less than 5 percent 
of the real number of drug users in Korea.

Also, the Korean government has been confiscating more drugs annually, 
which are divided into three categories here _ narcotics such as opium, 
cocaine and heroin; psychotropic substances, including LSD and 
methamphetamine or philopon; and marijuana.

The quantity of confiscated drugs, which stood at around 82 kilograms a 
year in the 1996-2000 period, skyrocketed to 462kg in 2001, 274kg in 2002 
and 170kg in 2003.

A drug expert attributes it to lack of police enforcement as well as a 
budget shortage.

"The number of police in drug enforcement, currently around 10,000 and the 
assigned budget, 3.3 billion won this year, should at least be doubled to 
cope with drug crimes," Chung Dae-pyo, prosecutor in charge of drug-related 
crimes at the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, said during a 
presentation in a conference held in Seoul on Dec. 2.

The problem is growing as an increasing amount of drugs is expected to be 
smuggled into Korea from neighboring countries like China, he said.

"China produces lots of methamphetamine and people try to sell it here 
because it is a tenth of the price of the drug in Korea. In addition, some 
organized criminal rings in Korea are joining smuggling led by 
international drug rings."

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said yesterday some international drug 
rings have used Korea as middle access point for transporting drugs to the 
United States, Europe and Japan, with pledge to implement full-ranged 
crackdown on drug smuggling.

"Korea is known as drug-free country, so major drug-consuming countries 
have focused its investigation on people or luggage from drug-exporting 
countries, not on those from Korea, however, this conversely has led 
international drug rings to eagerly try to pass through this country," said 
Kim Byung-doo, director of narcotics investigation division.

According to the KCS, 72 percent of 43 kilograms of confiscated drug in 
Korea during the first 11 months this year was heading from foreign to 
foreign countries.

In September, the KCS exposed 11 kilograms of hashish in the Incheon 
international airport, heading for Japan from India and in November, it 
exposed 48 grams of methamphetamine, heading for Guam hidden in cargo from 
the Philippines.

If drug supply increases sharply from those reasons, prices will plunge, 
increasing the number of Koreans using drugs, prosecutor Chung warned.

"The increasing number of drug addicts will bring more drugs into the 
nation in a vicious circle. Eventually, in the worst scenario, it could 
make drugs much more available in our society," he added.

Meanwhile, another expert discussed the ineffective drug-offense management 
by the government.

"The drug issue is getting more serious as more people fall into the trap, 
but what is worse is that 70.6 percent of drug criminals in Korea repeat 
the offense," Lee Kun-ho, law professor at Hallym University, said.

"This may show how difficult it is to treat and rehabilitate drug abusers. 
But it also indicates the government's failure to make drug abusers quit 
the habit, which eventually makes the matter more serious in Korea," the 
professor said.

Lee, who addressed the strategies used by different nations in dealing with 
drug-related offenses at the conference, called on the government to 
improve treatment for drug violators in order to handle the issue more 
effectively.

"For instance, first offenders convicted for taking soft drugs such as 
marijuana are treated in the same way and in the same prison as offenders 
with previous drug records for hard drugs like cocaine and heroin," Lee 
said. "This only leads first offenders to commit more crimes by placing 
them in a bad environment."

Lee believes that diversifying treatment programs for drug users could help 
to resolve the drug problem in Korea, as a 2001 report indicated that drug 
users accounted for 70.9 percent of cases of drug-related crimes, which 
includes dealers and smugglers.

"By providing various and suitable treatment programs for all people 
convicted of taking drugs, the Korean government can prevent many 
drug-users from repeat offenses."

Another drug expert agrees with Lee.

"The government's drug policy has focused on the punishment of drug users, 
not on treatment or rehabilitation," Chun Kyung-soo, president of the 
Drug-related Criminology Institute of Korea, said.

He claimed that the punishment-oriented policy will only harm drug abusers 
who are already suffering the after-effects of drug use.

"Drug abusers cannot improve their condition without outside help through 
treatment and rehabilitation, so the government should shift its focus from 
punishment to prevention and treatment," he said.
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