Applicants for government jobs in South Korea will be required to pass a drug test before they can be hired, the latest move in a widening campaign against illegal drugs.
The rule, approved by the cabinet on Tuesday, adds mandatory drug screening to the medical exam that civil service candidates must complete before they are appointed, the Ministry of Personnel Management said. It takes effect a week later and applies to anyone who clears the hiring process after that.
Drug testing is already required of some government applicants, including would-be police officers and firefighters. The new rule extends it to the general civil service and the foreign service. Final-round candidates will be screened for the same six drugs tested for police and fire recruits, among them methamphetamine, cannabis, opium and cocaine.
The change comes as South Korea, long proud of its reputation as a country relatively free of drugs, confronts a sharp rise in narcotics cases. More than 20,000 people have been caught on drug charges in each of the past few years, the government says, after the figure jumped to about 27,600 in 2023.