Drug-related disciplinary actions in military triple in 3 years

The military has been breached by narcotics.

In 2023, the number of drug-related disciplinary actions in the military tripled over the previous three years, pointing to the need for a management plan for drug offenders.

On Thursday, Rep. Seo Young-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea released the results after analyzing “Drug-related Disciplinary Status Data” he received from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. According to the data, the number of army, navy, and air force soldiers who received drug-related disciplines tripled from four in 2020 to 12 in 2023.

More specifically, the number of service members disciplined for drug-related offenses increased from four in 2020 to six each in 2021 and 2022 and 12 in 2023. Including the two disciplined through July this year, the number of soldiers disciplined for drug-related offenses in the last five years totaled 30.

Demotions and pay cuts were the most common penalties (17 percent each), followed by disciplinary education and shortened leave (13 percent each) and dismissal (10 percent) for officers.

Starting this year, the Ministry of National Defense conducts drug tests at least once a year for 30 percent of soldiers in the army, navy, and air force after enlistment.

However, it was confirmed that there is no systematic manual for drug testing, as shown by the failure to include soldiers or officers who test positive for drugs at the time of enlistment in mandatory drug testing the following year.

It is problematic that the Ministry of National Defense only focuses on whether or not the recruits and active duty soldiers test positive through a simple drug test but does not have detailed guidelines for post-management, including prevention and avoidance of recurrence, Rep. Seo said.

“As soldiers are more easily exposed to drug crimes when they return to society after serving in the military, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Defense must take measures to prevent and manage drugs at an interagency level within the military and after completing military service,” the DPK lawmaker added.