Illegal Drug Advertisements Detected 30,000 Cases This Year, But Investigation Requests Are ‘Zero’

This year alone, 30,000 advertisements for illegal drug sales online were detected. However, it was found that not a single case was investigated by health authorities and requested to be investigated by the police.

According to data submitted to Rep. Kim Sun-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on the 24th, the number of cases of online drug sales advertisements detected has more than tripled from 11,239 cases last year to 34,162 cases from January to August this year.

The number of double-drug cases increased by about 4.5 times from 180 cases last year to 813 cases in August this year, the number of psychotropic drugs increased by about 2.7 times from 9,738 cases to 26,392 cases, and the number of marijuana and temporary narcotics increased by about 5.3 times from 1,321 cases to 6,957 cases.

The reason for the increase in the number of illegal drug advertisements detected this year is understood to be that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety increased the number of people monitoring drug sales advertisements from 2.5 to 6.5. When they discover online drug sales posts, they request the Korea Communications Standards Commission or the site administrator to block the site or delete the post.

However, it was found that out of the 34,162 illegal advertisements detected this year, not a single case was referred to the police for investigation. From 2019 to 2024 (until August), a total of 72,988 illegal drug advertisements were detected, but only 36 cases (0.05%) were referred to investigation.

In October of last year, during the state audit, Oh Yoo-kyung, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, stated that “we have signed a business agreement (MOU) with the National Police Agency and will work closely together” to crack down on illegal drug sales. Looking at this business agreement, it states that “both agencies will faithfully cooperate in each agency’s crackdowns and investigations to eradicate illegal drugs and, if necessary, cooperate in joint responses such as joint crackdowns.”

Rep. Kim Sun-min said, “The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it would root out illegal online drug sales with the National Police Agency, but it has been confirmed that it has not even requested an investigation even once despite detecting over 30,000 cases.” He added, “It is urgent to reorganize the system so that the drugs that are plaguing our society cannot run rampant online as well as offline.”