A three-month voluntary report period for narcotic addicts is to kick off tomorrow, if previous years are any guide. Separately from it, law enforcement officers plan to summon two to three more TV personalities suspected of drug abuse this week. This will likely be another difficult year for entertainers using prohibited substances. Unfortunately, however, these stars represent just a tiny, if most publicized, portion of the people yielding to the "white temptation." The number of narcotic offenders jumped 12.6 percent to 10,102 last year. Almost 80 percent of them were addicts of methamphetamine, or philopon, as the white powder is called here. Anti-narcotic agents seized 170 kilograms of the artificial drug, 3.7 times higher than in 2000, but actual circulation is estimated to reach 20 times of the confiscated amount. The latest hit is "ecstasy," a tablet variant of philopon, as the narcotic of choice at techno clubs. [continues 646 words]
The amount of methamphetamine, or speed, smuggled from China into South Korea this year is 3.2 times larger than last year's total, officials and prosecutors said yesterday. There also is rapid growth in cases where drugs produced in China are shipped to South Korea before reaching destinations in Southeast Asia, they said. The Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office said that a total of 149.2 kg of the drugs were smuggled into Korea by air or sea from last January to November, a quantity 3.2 times larger than the 46.2 kg in 2000, and 14 times larger than the 10.2 kg in 1999. [continues 241 words]
South Korean and Japanese anti-drug police units have agreed to set up a joint hotline to crack down on rising drug crime, in preparation for the 2002 World Cup soccer finals, the National Police Agency (NPA) said yesterday. Investigators from the NPA's drug intelligence division and some members of the Japanese National Police Agency's drug crime prevention unit agreed at a meeting Wednesday to establish the hotline through telephone, fax and e-mail. Both host countries of the international soccer event will crack down on drug trafficking, particularly trafficking in methamphetamine, or "speed," officials said. [continues 173 words]
In its analysis of the global situation in 2000, the International Narcotics Control Board commended our government for its law enforcement efforts and vigilance as well as its efficient programs to prevent drug abuse. The board may be right in believing that drug abuse levels here remain "extremely low" in comparison with other regions in the Americas, Africa and South Asia. But narcotics demand is also rising at a fast pace among Koreans, posing a serious threat to public health and social ethics. [continues 661 words]
China offered an official apology for its belated notification of the execution of a South Korean drug trafficker and the death of his accomplice in prison, a diplomatic source said yesterday. Chinese Foreign Minster Tang Jiaxuan acknowledged that Beijing notified South Korea of the cases when he met with his South Korean counterpart Han Seung-soo in Brunei on Sunday. The two ministers were in Brunei for the summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its North East Asian partners - South Korea, China and Japan. [continues 468 words]
Primary, middle and high school students will be required to receive anti-drug education for more than two hours every semester starting in 2003, the Prime Minister's Office announced yesterday. As part of an initiative aimed at combating juvenile drug abuse, the government also decided to set up a task force involving related agencies, including the National Intelligence Service, officials said. The decision was made during an interagency meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Han-dong. Participants agreed to work out further details and put measures in place next month, the officials said. [continues 170 words]
Two Nigerians were arrested Saturday on charges of selling drugs in the Itaewon area, often frequented by foreigners and young Koreans, police said. The Seoul Metropolitan Agency said it also put two other Nigerians on a wanted list in connection with the case. The men are suspected of having sold 2 million ($1,560) worth of drugs such as marijuana and ecstasy to Egyptians at an Itaewon bar since July, it said. The agency said it is expanding its probe into the drug case as it believes that the suspects might be connected to drug-trafficking rings. [end]
Surveillance on drug smuggling will be toughened at Incheon International Airport, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said yesterday. Yun Jin-sik, director of the KCS, said in a press conference that his agency will conduct searches on all passengers on one flight a day, which will be randomly chosen out of the average 130 flights at the airport. The cash reward for Koreans and foreigners who report smuggling will also be raised to 100 million won from 20 million won, he said. [continues 255 words]
The high esteem in which former representative Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is held by his colleagues was demonstrated by the 98 to 1 Senate vote confirming him last month as the new director of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Even more telling was the fact that Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and an ardent opponent of the impeachment of President Clinton, appeared at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to praise Hutchinson, who had been one of the Republican House managers presenting the case against Clinton to the full Senate. [continues 691 words]
Dear Ann Landers: This is in response to the letter from DEA administrator Donnie Marshall about ecstasy. The ecstasy knock-off known as PMA that has been taking the lives of young Americans is today's version of bathtub gin. The black market has no controls for quality or user age. Unlike legitimate businesses that sell alcohol, illegal drug dealers do not ask for ID. They push trendy, synthetic "club drugs" when given the chance. The drug war fails miserably at its primary mandate -- protecting children from drugs. [continues 563 words]
I am an avid reader of The Korea Herald after having lived in the country for three years. I work in news in Canada so I pay close attention to the stories you print. After reading the article "Nine drug users indicted in bar raids" (July 26), I can't help but question the motivation behind the story's headline-like treatment. I realize drug use in Korea isn't as bad as it is in North America, but it does happen. I don't think it warrants front-page coverage when so many other things are taking place. [continues 194 words]
To the Editor: With the spate of drug-related busts in the news over the past few months, I have to wonder about a couple of things: Is this one of the Korean police's notorious "annual" crackdowns. Is every puny drug arrest newsworthy? Finally, why all the hype about foreigners using drugs? Instead of being a year-round deterrent to crime, the Korean police announce via the media what their next target is and make their goals known to the public as if there should be a quota on each type of lawbreaker. It's a shame that Koreans seem to take a cue from the daft Americans when setting law enforcement policy and place priority on victimless crimes over those that really harm society. [continues 249 words]
Justice Minister Kim Jung-kil spoke with Korea Herald City Desk Editor Kang Sung-chul yesterday on the ministry's law enforcement policies and other major programs. Following are excerpts from the interview: Question: What do you view as the foremost guiding principle of your ministry? Answer: Society is moving into an information age characterized by an increased dependence on cyberspace as a medium for human interaction. This will lead to revolutionary changes in human civilization, affecting the economic, political, social and cultural spheres as well as our value systems. [continues 1880 words]
Revelations of a rampant trade in bogus antlers and herbicide-tainted medicinal herbs has sent a shock wave through the medicinal business as Oriental doctors and pharmaceutical firms were found to have used unfit materials imported from Russia and China. Six traders of medicinal herbs were arrested yesterday for supplying fake antlers and selling herbs contaminated with harmful pesticides. The Seoul District Prosecutor's Office said one of the arrested, identified as Kim Tong-yang, 39, was accused of selling the bogus antlers worth 180 million won, to Oriental medicine doctors. [continues 419 words]
