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South Korea Reports Record Drug Seizures and Arrests in First Year of Lee Administration
Government agencies detained 23,403 drug offenders in 2025 and recorded all-time highs in online arrests and border seizures during President Lee Jae-myung's first year. Data from prosecution, police, customs, coast guard and food-drug authorities detail the scale of enforcement actions.
Jun 1, 3:06 AM·1m read1 source
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South Korean authorities detained 23,403 drug offenders through special crackdowns in 2025, the Office for Government Policy Coordination said Monday. The same period produced record numbers of online offenders arrested and drugs seized since President Lee Jae-myung took office.
The prosecution booked 765 drug offenders and formally arrested 217 of them between June 2025 and March 2026 while seizing 1,042 kilograms of drugs.
Police formed dedicated drug-crime teams that apprehended 5,385 offenders between June 2025 and April 2026 and detained another 12,774 people in operations targeting new synthetic substances and medical-purpose drugs. Customs officers intercepted 3,233 kilograms of drugs in 1,181 cases during the first 10 months of the Lee administration, a 307 percent increase over the same stretch the previous year and the highest total on record.
The Coast Guard detained 129 suspects through hull inspections that included underwater drones and seized 29,121 poppy plants.
The food and drug administration opened 44 cases involving misuse of medical drugs such as propofol. Park Wang-yeol, a 48-year-old South Korean national, arrived at Incheon airport on March 25, 2026, after detention in the Philippines. " All figures were compiled by the Office for Government Policy Coordination and released in a single statement summarizing enforcement results from the first year of the Lee government.
