Teen drug offenders caught in Jan.-July near 80 pct of 2025 total

In the first seven months of 2025, South Korean police apprehended nearly 80% of last year's total drug-related offenses committed by teenagers, a lawmaker reported on Wednesday. According to the Korean National Police Agency data, 370 teenagers were arrested for drug offenses between January and July, accounting for 78.7% of the 470 teenagers caught throughout the entire previous year.

In 2021, the number of teenage drug offenders was 309, and it rose to 1,066 in 2023 before falling to 442 in 2024 and increasing to 470 in 2024. The total number of drug offenders increased from 10,626 in 2021 to 12,387 in 2022, then to 17,817 in 2023, falling to 13,512 in 2024, and 13,353 last year. By July 2025, 295 students had been apprehended for drug offenses, making up 63% of the 468 students arrested during the same period last year.