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| Police take a photo of marijuana plants, found at a house in Seoul earlier this year. A simple online search can connect potential buyers from Korea with sellers of illegal drugs, which is increasingly becoming a problem. |
Lack of crackdown helps make marijuana readily available
This is the first in a two-part series on illegal drug trafficking in Korea and ways to fight it. ― ED.
By Jung Min-ho
Marijuana sellers advertise their goods online, not only for those who can use it legally in their home countries. As a result, in Korea home delivery of "top quality weed" is just a few clicks away.
This has prompted a call for stronger law enforcement against drug trafficking.
Selling or buying marijuana is illegal in Korea. It carries a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won ($48,000). Yet such activity is common on overseas-based websites, over which Korean law enforcement has little control.
When The Korea Times contacted one of the sellers and asked for 30 grams of White Rhino, slang for high quality marijuana, the seller claimed the delivery would only take an hour within Seoul.
"All you need to do is let me know where precisely you are in the city and how soon you need the stuff, since I can deliver at any moment as I am with my motor bike, which makes delivery very easy and safe," another seller said. "The cost is 250,000 won, including the delivery."
According to dealers, the average marijuana price in Korea is $30 to $50 per gram and it is possible to buy at an even cheaper price, "if you are friendly and you are quite good at bargaining."
The Korea Times could not confirm the delivery because that would be illegal. However, the fact is that it is not difficult to find marijuana smokers in Korea.
"I got mine via a different route, but I have heard it is possible to buy marijuana online," a 29-year-old woman, a self-professed marijuana smoker, said on condition of anonymity. "But if it is too cheap or the amount is too large, it is likely to be a scam."
According to the National Police Agency last month, 86 people were arrested on charges of illegal online drug trading in 2012. The number jumped to 459 in 2013. From January to July of this year, it was 335.
Meanwhile, illegal drug smuggling increased as well.
According to the Korea Customs Service, the value of illegal drugs it seized related to online transactions in the first half of this year reached 48.6 billion won. That is 24 times the total for 2013.
It is not just one or two websites. Potential buyers here can also purchase marijuana from overseas sellers directly and get it delivered with a simple Google search for "no prescription marijuana" or "marijuana delivery to South Korea."
Moreover, there is abundant information about how to grow marijuana on various websites. As some drugs are legal in some countries, such information is generated legally, but people spread it to places where it is not legal, such as Korea.
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