ED Crime across borders
A 51-year-old drug dealer surnamed Choi is taken by police officers in front of Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Yonhap
Southeast Asia cooperation essential to curb drug trafficking
A district court in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, issued an arrest warrant on Sunday for a 51-year-old drug dealer who was repatriated to Korea on May 1 after being apprehended in Thailand. Identified only by the surname Choi, he is accused of smuggling 10 billion won worth of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, into Korea and selling them online.
Choi was arrested weeks after Park Wang-yeol — one of the most notorious Korean drug dealers in Southeast Asia — was repatriated from the Philippines in late March. Choi and Park are reportedly business partners, an allegation Choi denies.
Southeast Asia has emerged as a haven for Korean drug dealers and drug trafficking. Having once operated within Korea, many traffickers relocated to Southeast Asia, where law enforcement is comparatively weaker. There, they collaborate with local manufacturers to supply drugs to customers in Korea. The dark web and platforms like Telegram connect these overseas dealers with Korean users. Orders are placed online, and the drugs are smuggled into Korea through intermediaries and then delivered to end users by middlemen.
The transnational nature of drug trafficking makes international cooperation essential. The repatriation of Park and Choi would not have been possible without assistance from authorities in the Philippines and Thailand.
Along with international cooperation, strong government commitment is also crucial in combating transnational crime.
According to the government, cases of voice phishing — another form of crime that is often transnational — dropped sharply to 6,687 between last October and February this year, a 31.6 percent decrease compared to the same period a year earlier. This improvement followed a series of responsive measures. In September, Korea launched a task force comprising the National Police Agency and relevant Cabinet ministries. This interministerial body was formed shortly after media reports highlighted a surge in cases of Koreans going missing or being kidnapped in Cambodia.
Korean police worked with Cambodian authorities to track down missing citizens, while local officials cracked down on criminal compounds. These efforts produced tangible results. In January, 73 Koreans involved in Cambodia’s scam industry were repatriated, and 72 of them were detained.
The sharp decline in scam-related crimes demonstrates that government resolve, combined with international cooperation, is key to combating transnational crime.
At a Cabinet meeting last week, President Lee Jae Myung emphasized the importance of strengthening diplomacy with the Global South. Noting that geopolitical risks arising from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are reshaping the global security and economic landscape, he acknowledged that securing sustainable growth has become increasingly difficult in such a volatile environment.
He stated that Korea needs to reduce its heavy dependence on specific regions and diversify its partnerships, describing this approach as “pragmatic diplomacy” to broaden Korea’s diplomatic horizons.
Lee’s remarks come as disruptions in global supply chains continue to wreak havoc on the Korean economy. He presented Global South diplomacy as a strategic balancing measure.
While the specific forms of cooperation he envisions remain unclear, one priority is evident: addressing transnational crime, including drug trafficking and scam operations in Southeast Asia.
Koreans are increasingly exposed to crimes originating in the Global South, underscoring that domestic law enforcement alone is insufficient to ensure public safety. The online fraud industry in Cambodia, along with drug production and trafficking in the Philippines and Thailand, poses a significant threat to national security.
To respond effectively, the Lee administration should deepen cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. These nations, once major recipients of Korean aid, should now be regarded as key partners in law enforcement. Korea should work with these countries to strengthen the rule of law.
Joint operations targeting drug trafficking and online scam networks would help dismantle these transnational criminal enterprises. Through such cooperation, both sides stand to benefit.