Drug use in S. Korea up but addiction clinics underused

The estimated number of drug users in South Korea has surged to more than 400,000 in 2024, but several of the state-designated hospitals for drug addiction treatment have not treated a single patient this year.

According to the local DongA Ilbo newspaper, a Ministry of Health and Welfare report estimated that 400,530 people in South Korea are thought to have used illegal drugs this year.

This figure is derived from the ministry's formula of multiplying by 30 the actual number of those investigated for drug use, which is 13,351 so far this year.

The estimated number of drug users has been on the upward trend in recent years. For the whole year of 2019, it was 246,300. In 2023, the number jumped to 326,970.

However, this comes alongside a crackdown on drugs, which is likely to increase the number of people investigated for drug use - and therefore the estimated number of users - even without a corresponding rise in the actual number of users.