SoKor monitoring Phl war on drugs

SEOUL – South Korean antinarcotics authorities have expressed concern on the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs.

Kim Jin-hak, senior investigator of the Narcotics Division of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Korea, said they have been monitoring the spate of killings of drug suspects in the Philippines.

“We are curious about the approach of President Duterte in combating illegal drugs. We are closely watching it, especially since there are about 300,000 Koreans living in the Philippines,” Kim told The

STAR during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-ROK media exchange program.

Kim lamented that thousands of drug suspects are killed in the Philippines without trial.

“The Korean government gives utmost respect to human dignity during police operations. We make sure there is enough evidence first before we make the arrest of drug suspects,” he said.

Kim added that under Korean laws, a drug suspect could not be arrested in the absence of a lawyer.

“We cannot do violent arrest or harassment of drug suspects,” he said.

Kim, however, admitted that the Philippine situation may be different from theirs as drug suspects in Korea seldom fight it out with police during operations.

He noted that “narco-politics” or the involvement of elected officials and authorities in the illegal drug trade does not exist in South Korea.

“There is no such thing as narco-politics in South Korea. We don’t know about it,” he said.

Kim expressed hope that the Philippines’ war on drugs will succeed.

“It will also be a victory for the world if that happens,” he said, citing the cross-border nature of the illegal drug trade.

Kim said the South Korean government would continue to support the Philippines in its campaign against illegal drugs through the ROK-ASEAN Cooperation Project, which has been funding programs of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Earlier, PDEA investigators attended a two-month forensic investigation training here.

Kim underscored the need for continuous international cooperation in the war on drugs, citing an increasing trend of illegal drugs worldwide – except for cocaine and heroin.

“People are using the internet in ordering illegal drugs and that’s hard to detect,” he said.

Kim said that ASEAN member-countries need cooperation and assistance considering their limited government resources.

He said that timely sharing of information and joint investigations among ASEAN membercountries have led to arrests of drug traffickers.