Pan-government task meeting discusses bid; police to pursue letter of intent at year-end general assembly

Yoon Chang-ryeol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks at the second Narcotics Policy Coordination Council meeting held Wednesday afternoon at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
Yoon Chang-ryeol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks at the second Narcotics Policy Coordination Council meeting held Wednesday afternoon at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

South Korea has decided to pursue hosting an Interpol drug response center, with the goal of opening it in Seoul around the time of the Interpol General Assembly in 2029.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination said Wednesday that the plan was discussed at the second Narcotics Policy Coordination Council meeting, chaired by Office head Yoon Chang-ryeol. The Korean National Police Agency will seek to sign a letter of intent with the Interpol secretary-general on establishing the center in Korea at the Interpol General Assembly in Hong Kong this December, the office said.

The office said there is a growing need for an Asia-based international cooperation hub to strategically intercept and counter drug flows from the "Golden Triangle" — the border area of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos — which produces 70 percent of the world's illicit drugs.

"We expect this will be a great help in effectively countering international drug supply chains," Yoon said, urging related ministries to join forces on the effort.

The meeting also shared results from a pan-government joint narcotics crackdown conducted from March through May. The operation led to the arrest of 5,337 drug offenders, of whom 895 were detained, and the seizure of 759 kilograms of narcotics.

To crack down on the misuse and abuse of medical narcotics, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducted on-site inspections of 148 medical institutions and found violations at 31, while police arrested 344 people on charges related to medical narcotics.

Authorities also blocked 358 attempts to smuggle narcotics across the border and arrested 2,158 people for online drug offenses. Inspections targeting clubs and similar venues led to the detection of foreign drug distribution network members and wanted suspects.

The government plans to launch a youth drug prevention campaign under the slogan "Don't do something uncool."


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