Suwon: 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.
According to Yonhap News Agency, 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. Many traffickers, having once operated within Korea, 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-a transnational crime-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, including the formation of a task force comprising the National Police Agency and relevant Cabinet ministries.
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 decline in scam-related crimes demonstrates that government resolve, combined with international cooperation, is key to combating transnational crime. President Lee Jae Myung emphasized the importance of strengthening diplomacy with the Global South, noting that geopolitical risks from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are reshaping the global security and economic landscape.
Lee 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. He presented Global South diplomacy as a strategic balancing measure to address 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. To respond effectively, the Lee administration should deepen cooperation with Southeast Asian countries, which should now be regarded as key partners in law enforcement. Joint operations targeting drug trafficking and online scam networks would help dismantle these transnational criminal enterprises, benefiting both sides.