▲ This file photo, taken Nov. 14, 2025, shows a drug detection dog demonstrating at a park in Incheon, west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea detected a record volume of illicit drug smuggling incidents in the first half of the year amid tightened inspections, the customs agency said Wednesday.

The combined volume of drugs seized came to 767 cases totaling 1,007 kilograms in the January-June period. This is equal to 33.58 million doses, according to the Korea Customs Service.

The agency said the volume marked the highest figure for any first-half period for drugs that were intended for domestic distribution.

It detected 509 cases involving 175 kilograms of illicit drugs carried by individual travelers amid tightened surveillance of international parcels.

By type, cannabis accounted for 654 kilograms, followed by methamphetamine, ketamine and cocaine at 230 kilograms, 58 kilograms and 2 kilograms, respectively.

By country of origin, Thailand remained the largest source of attempted drug smuggling, followed by Britain, Canada and Vietnam.

Smugglers aged 39 and younger accounted for 59.3 percent of the 717 drug offenders caught in the first half, including 14 teenagers.

Lee Jong-wook, commissioner of the agency, vowed to establish multiple layers of surveillance across all possible smuggling routes.

"We will raise a strong awareness that all smuggling attempts will be detected at the border," Lee said.

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