Celebrity drug scandals highlight surging problem in South Korea

SEOUL -

The suicide of Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun,

driven to despair at the peak of his career over a drug scandal, has cast the spotlight on South Korea’s growing drug problem, fuelled by young people becoming more open to taking illegal substances.

Despite President Yoon Suk-yeol ordering a crackdown on drug crimes last April, numbers have continued to surge, with a record-high 22,393 drug offenders arrested from January to October 2023 – a jump of nearly 50 per cent from the same period the year before.