Over 200 criminal cases committed after illegal drug use on yearly average: lawmaker

All News 16:08 October 17, 2022

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- An average of more than 200 cases of crimes committed by those high on drugs have been reported annually over the past four years, a lawmaker said Monday.

The number of such crimes totaled 221 in 2018, 236 in 2019, 182 in 2020 and 230 last year, showing a yearly average of 217, Rep. Lee Man-hee of the ruling People Power Party said, citing police data.

By type, traffic offenses accounted for 216 cases, physical assault 87 and sexual assault 81 cases.

Nine cases were murder.

The data also showed the number of drug offenders increased from 8,887 in 2017 to 10,626 in 2021.

During the same period, the number of foreign nationals apprehended on drug charges more than doubled from 624 to 1,673.

Among foreign drug offenders, 44.4 percent were Thai, followed by 24.1 percent of Chinese and 10.1 percent of Vietnamese.

As of September this year, 9,422 people had been apprehended on drug charges, including 1,243 foreigners.

"Illegal drugs must be eradicated, as they can leave bruises on the users, their friends and families, and the community, and also lead to other crimes," Lee said, calling on authorities to come up with effective measures to respond to drug offenses.