Lying on the Street, Staggering in Broad Daylight... Is Hongdae Next After Suwon?

Following the so-called "Suwon zombie" incident last month, where a woman in her 20s was arrested for erratic behavior on the street while high on drugs in Suwon, videos suspecting similar cases are going viral on social media.

This has sparked concerns over whether drug use has spread to the extent that people might now encounter drug users on the streets in South Korea as well.

The number of drug-related crime crackdowns has actually increased.

In addition, some estimates suggest that the number of individuals involved in drug-related crimes could reach up to 700,000.

However, police explain that among the videos recently spreading on social media, very few have actually been linked to drugs.

According to the "Results of the Intensive Crackdown on Drug Crimes in the First Half of the Year" released by the National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency on the 3rd of this month, a total of 5,203 drug offenders were arrested between March and June this year, of whom 1,039 were taken into custody.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of arrested individuals increased by 94 (a 1.8% rise), and those taken into custody increased by 75 (a 7.8% rise).

A similar trend is confirmed in the Korea Customs Service's drug smuggling crackdown statistics.

According to the Korea Customs Service's drug smuggling crackdown statistics for 2021 to 2025, last year's crackdowns reached 1,256 cases, a 45.7% increase from the previous year (862 cases).

In particular, the weight of drugs seized last year was 3,318 kg, a 321.6% surge compared to the previous year (787 kg).

An all-time high scale was also intercepted in the first half of this year.

When announcing the status of drug smuggling crackdowns for the first half of the year on the 22nd of last month, the Korea Customs Service stated that a total of 767 cases and 1,007 kg were seized.

This is an amount equivalent to what approximately 33.58 million people can simultaneously consume.

While the number of crackdown cases increased by 24% compared to the same period last year, the total weight decreased by 62%.

However, the amount of drugs seized with the intent of domestic distribution surged 2.6 times from 390 kg in the first half of last year to 1,007 kg this year, marking a record high.

According to the "2025 White Paper on Drug Crimes" released by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 28th of last month, the number of apprehended drug offenders stood at 23,403, surpassing 20,000 for three consecutive years since 2023.

In particular, manufacturing (illicit production) offenders rose by 31.6% to 25 from the previous year (19), and smuggling offenders surged by 57.4% to 1,772 from the previous year (1,126), both reaching all-time highs.

Because these drug crime statistics represent the number of "crackdowns," they have limitations in fully reflecting the actual drug-using population or current domestic status.

This is because the figures can rise if relevant authorities intensify their enforcement levels.

However, field experts concurred that these figures indicate a directional trend, noting that they tangibly feel drugs have become more accessible than in the past.

Cho Sung-nam, a psychiatrist and former head of the Seoul Drug Management Center, stated, "While it is true that obtaining exact statistics on drugs is difficult, I believe even the arrest rate reflects the current situation. Arrest rates have gone up because drug abuse has actually increased."

Sun Mi-hwa, head of the Drug Crime Investigation Unit at the Korean National Police Agency, also explained, "Due to the nature of drug crimes, active enforcement activities tend to drive up the number of arrests, but it is true that accessibility has increased as drug distribution channels have diversified online and elsewhere."

An official from a police station in Seoul said, "The police are not focusing on drug crackdowns for no reason. Even if it hasn't exploded overnight as the public fears, it is true that it is steadily increasing."

The industry generally estimates the dark figure of drug crimes (hidden crimes) to be 10 to 30 times the official numbers.

According to "A Qualitative Study on Measuring the Dark Figure of Drug Crimes," published in the Spring 2019 issue of the academic journal "Korean Police Studies" issued by the Korean Association of Police Studies, a broad survey of experts and drug offenders predicted the domestic dark figure rate for drug crimes to be 28.57 times.

This is three times higher than the roughly 10-fold estimate traditionally calculated by government agencies, which means that if some 23,000 drug offenders were caught last year, there could be a hidden drug population of 230,000 to 700,000 behind them.

Some argue that if medical drugs are taken into account, the dark figure rate could reach up to 100 times.

Former Center Head Cho stated, "The dark figure rate for drug offenders is generally considered to be 30 times, but from a frontline perspective, if medical drugs such as fentanyl and propofol are included, I believe it reaches up to 100 times."

He added, "Unlike conventional illicit drugs, medical drugs can be prescribed, so people approach them without fear, which seemingly leads to more severe abuse."

Experts emphasized that attention must be paid to the rise of new types of drugs alongside a lowering user age demographic.

According to the "Drug Analysis White Paper 2025" released last month by the National Forensic Service (NFS), various drugs are being chemically synthesized thanks to advances in science and technology, and the pace at which drugs with new structures emerge is gradually accelerating.

In particular, the abuse of ketamine, cocaine, and LSD—substances that previously saw scarce domestic abuse cases—has been shown to increase.

In fact, looking at the drugs detected by the NFS in confiscated items submitted last year, the proportion of major new psychoactive substances, including synthetic cannabinoids (substances with effects similar to cannabis), stood at 31.5%, marking the second consecutive year above 30% following 2024.

Until 2020, this proportion was below 10%.

These new types of drugs pose problems due to low barriers to access and a high potential for abuse and misuse.

Head Sun noted, "While traditional drugs like cocaine and philopon had barriers to purchase, new types of drugs are sometimes distributed much more easily."

Furthermore, the NFS pointed out in the white paper that as seen with synthetic cannabinoids, once a market of a certain scale is formed, suppressing those drugs becomes difficult.

Compounding this, drug use has penetrated down to the teenage demographic, with teenagers showing the highest rate of synthetic cannabinoid abuse—a new type of drug—across all age groups.

The NFS analyzed in the white paper that liquid synthetic cannabinoids, commonly nicknamed "V-liquid," come in cartridge forms that look identical to regular e-cigarettes, making them easy to consume and lowering psychological barriers to access, thus serving as an initial gateway for teenagers to enter into drug use.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office pointed out in the white paper that the trend of drug offenders becoming younger is deepening, with the proportion of drug offenders aged 30 and under steadily increasing and exceeding 60% of the total since 2024.

Social media is pointed to as a major culprit behind this background.

With platforms like Telegram recently emerging as new drug distribution channels, it has become easier for younger generations, who are accustomed to social media, to gain access.

Regarding the younger age profile of drug offenders, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office also analyzed it as "the impact of a complete shift in crime patterns toward online non-face-to-face transactions via dark webs (websites accessible only through dedicated programs that leave no traces) and Telegram, moving away from traditional face-to-face transaction methods."

Drug abuse among the younger generation serves as the biggest factor driving a continuous increase in users.

Former Center Head Cho said, "Once you try drugs even once, you cannot erase that memory, and it often leads to repeated use for life or shifts toward stronger substances. Teenagers often act without fear and even try categories that ordinary people tend not to approach."

Meanwhile, as a video showing a woman in her 20s screaming and crawling on all fours on the street near Suwon Station on the 29th of last month spreads online, "drug zombie videos" are drawing attention once again.

Recently, videos capturing people struggling to steady themselves or lying flat on the ground in broad daylight around the Hongdae area in Seoul were uploaded to social media, sparking speculations that they too might have taken drugs.

However, the police stance is that it is impossible to judge whether someone has taken drugs simply based on appearances of losing consciousness, failing to keep one's balance, or lying on the ground.

An official from the Seoul Mapo Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the Hongdae area, stated, "There have been no cases reported or arrests made regarding drug use around that area last month."

The official placed weight on the possibility that the individuals in the video were drunk, noting, "It is common for heavily intoxicated people to wander the streets like this not only in Hongdae, but also in areas like Gangnam and Itaewon."

There have also been cases where people were initially thought to have taken drugs based solely on videos, but turned out otherwise.

In June, a video spread online showing a man in his 30s in Suwon hunched over with his arms hanging limply as if he had lost consciousness, raising speculations that he might be a "drug zombie."

However, this man subsequently tested negative for drugs in an examination by the National Forensic Service.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.