For subscribers
Celebrity drug scandals highlight surging problem in South Korea
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Late actor Lee Sun-kyun had been under investigation over illegal drug use allegations amid an ongoing government crackdown on illegal drugs.
PHOTO: AFP
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.
