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Dark web drug hub 'Top Korea' taken down in global crackdown

Published: 28 May. 2025, 10:02

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 22, 2024. [NEWS1]

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has effectively dismantled “Top Korea,” the largest domestic drug trafficking hub on the dark web.

The investigation team identified 19 drug dealers involved with the site, indicting 15 of them under detention and four without detention. These individuals were involved in drug transactions worth approximately 900 million won ($657,000).

Top Korea, launched in June 2020, emerged as a central player in domestic drug distribution from 2022. The site’s operator charged entry fees to sellers, allowing them to register as vendors, and served as a broker between sellers and buyers — effectively operating as a “drug platform.”

With around 4,000 registered users, Top Korea was the most actively run and reportedly the only remaining drug distribution site on the dark web. Due to the bust of this network, domestic drug trade via the dark web is now believed to be virtually nonexistent.

The prosecutors’ office began closely monitoring online drug advertisements and launched a full-scale investigation around 2023. Last July, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office announced that it had “indicted 16 drug dealers active on the site between November 2023 and June 2024.” Over the next 10 months, authorities succeeded in capturing the remaining members.

Among those arrested was a family who grew marijuana in their apartment and sold it via the dark web. The mother, a homemaker, handled cultivation, while her son managed online sales. The father and son then jointly distributed the drugs by placing them at designated drop points.

Product photos of drugs uploaded on ″Top Korea″ in July last year. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT PROSECUTORS OFFICE]

Prosecutors detained and indicted the father and son, while the mother was indicted without detention. The family allegedly sold approximately 383 grams (13.5 ounces) of marijuana, valued at 45 million won, from 2023 to January last year.

Due to the dark web’s nature — enabling anonymous, encrypted communication and cryptocurrency-based transactions — traditional investigative techniques like controlled deliveries or CCTV analysis proved insufficient.

The prosecution team employed forensic science methods to monitor transaction patterns and trace the conversion of cryptocurrency into cash, successfully uncovering criminal leads.

[JOONGANG ILBO]

Part of an international crackdown

This investigation was also part of “Operation Raptor,” an international crackdown on the dark web involving 10 countries: the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Switzerland and Korea — the only Asian country participating.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported the collective achievements of participating countries on Thursday, listing Korea as the fifth-highest in arrests after the United States, which had 130 arrests, Germany with 42, the United Kingdom with 37 and France with 29.

“Drug crimes are shifting from offline channels to online platforms, especially encrypted spaces like the dark web and Telegram,” said Noh Man-seok, head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office's Drug and Organized Crime Division.

“The prosecution will continue to do its best to block drugs in line with the international community by utilizing the scientific investigation techniques it has accumulated over the years.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SUK GYEONG-MIN [[email protected]]