Korea rolls out its own DEA to battle rising youth drug crime
Published: 21 Nov. 2025, 18:41
![Koo Ja-hyun, third from left, acting prosecutor general, unveils a plaque with attendees during the launch ceremony for the government’s joint task force for drug crime investigations at the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office in Yeongtong District, Suwon, on Nov. 21. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/21/24467025-20d0-48cb-b645-f608577544b2.jpg)
Koo Ja-hyun, third from left, acting prosecutor general, unveils a plaque with attendees during the launch ceremony for the government’s joint task force for drug crime investigations at the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office in Yeongtong District, Suwon, on Nov. 21. [NEWS1]
Korea launched a sweeping new drug-crime task force on Friday, pulling together prosecutors, police and intelligence officials into a single command center as the country confronts a sharp rise in narcotics offenses among young people.
The task force, named the “Joint Investigation Headquarters for Drug Crimes” (translated), is housed at the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office in Gyeonggi. It brings together 86 officials from eight agencies in what authorities describe as the most coordinated national effort yet to stem the growing drug trade.
They have cast the unit as a Korean counterpart to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, designed to unify scattered investigative powers and streamline rapid responses to traffickers.
The task force began operating without a permanent chief. Prosecutors had planned to name Park Jae-eok, former head of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, to the post, but he resigned amid fallout from the controversy over prosecutors dropping their appeal in the first trial of the controversial Daejang-dong development case.
Shin Jun-ho, the deputy chief prosecutor in Busan and the task force’s designated deputy director, will lead the new headquarters until a replacement is named.
Sharp rise in teen drug offenses
Officials say the urgency is clear. Drug offenses keep climbing, and cases involving minors have risen at a worrying pace, strengthening calls for a dedicated unit.
Narcotics crimes have surged from 1,190 cases in 1985, when Korea touted itself as a “drug-free” nation, to 23,022 last year. Offenders in their twenties and thirties now make up more than 60 percent of those arrested.
![Bottles of drug-laced drinks passed to students at Gangnam’s private academy district are displayed at the briefing room of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s major crime investigation unit in Mapo District, western Seoul, on April 17, 2023. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/21/0c02c14f-e05b-48fc-b445-35f4a1581223.jpg)
Bottles of drug-laced drinks passed to students at Gangnam’s private academy district are displayed at the briefing room of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s major crime investigation unit in Mapo District, western Seoul, on April 17, 2023. [NEWS1]
The spike among teenagers has been especially alarming. Police recorded just 30 teen offenders in 2005; by 2023 the figure had grown to 1,477, the highest on record.
A sharp drop last year — to 649 — followed an aggressive crackdown prompted by a case in which teens were targeted with drug-laced drinks in the Gangnam academy district in Seoul, which shook parents nationwide. Prosecutors say the decline shows that unified, sustained enforcement can make an immediate difference.
Another challenge is the evolution of the market itself. Drug transactions increasingly unfold on encrypted platforms and in anonymous online communities, making coordination between agencies crucial. Until now, prosecutors, police, customs agents and other officials managed parallel investigations that rarely shared intelligence in real time. Officials say that fragmentation has allowed trafficking groups to outmaneuver investigators.
“The new headquarters brings together investigation, enforcement, intelligence and administrative capabilities that had been scattered across agencies into a single, governmentwide control tower,” a senior prosecutor said, adding that it “will focus on every type of narcotics crime, from supply to consumption to distribution.”
From tipoffs to prosecution
![Different types of narcotics are pictured in this file photo. [GETTY IMAGES BANK]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/21/b8919ade-5054-4496-b66b-696e57415199.jpg)
Different types of narcotics are pictured in this file photo. [GETTY IMAGES BANK]
The structure reflects that ambition. Forty-two prosecutors, including division chiefs, are assigned to the unit. The police have sent 25 officers, among them a deputy commissioner. Analysts and officers from the Korea Coast Guard, the Korea Customs Service, the National Intelligence Service and the Financial Intelligence Unit make up the remaining team members.
Its investigative framework splits between two main branches: a prosecutor-led division handling casework and legal strategy, and a police-centered division responsible for field operations, including inspections of high-risk entertainment venues and enforcement against drug networks involving foreign nationals. Two non-standing teams will handle overseas operations and prevention programs.
The headquarters will run what officials call a “one-stop” system. Intelligence teams will collect tips and analyze leads; special enforcement teams will carry out raids; investigators will follow up with case-building; and prosecutors assigned to the unit will take charge of indictments.
On its first day, the new task force opened operations by targeting clubs and entertainment venues in Itaewon and Gangnam, areas investigators have long identified as hubs for youth drug use and small-scale distribution.
Officials say they plan to move up the supply chain to larger brokers and wholesalers and will also expand raids in neighborhoods with high concentrations of undocumented foreign nationals.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JIN-WOO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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