South Korean police arrested over 5,200 drug suspects in the first half of the year and will strengthen crackdowns on online and foreign-related drug crimes in the second half.

According to Yonhap News Agency, data released by the National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency shows that during the concentrated crackdown campaign in the first half of this year (March to June), a total of 5,203 drug suspects were caught and 1,039 were detained, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.8% and 7.8% respectively. Among them, suspects involved in online drug transactions reached 2,178, accounting for 41.9% of the total number of suspects caught, an increase of 300 people compared to the same period last year; there were 848 foreign nationals involved in drug-related activities, an increase of 114 people year-on-year, with supply-related crimes accounting for up to 47.2%. During this period, the police also successfully extradited Philippine drug lord Park Wang-yeol and recovered criminal proceeds of 3.84 billion Korean won. In the second half of the year (August to December), the police will focus on strengthening crackdowns on drug sales channels on social platforms such as Telegram, and establish a 41-member special tracking team for virtual assets, while jointly strengthening efforts to crack down on drug crimes involving foreign personnel with international law enforcement agencies.