Drug Issues in Korean Society - News Data Analysis from 2008 to 2024 and Policy Implications-

This study investigates the portrayal of drug-related issues in Korean society as reflected in news articles from 2008—following the global financial crisis—through 2024, employing big data analysis methods. The dataset consisted of 32,472 drug-related articles from 30 major Korean media outlets, provided by BigKinds, and was analyzed using TF-IDF frequency analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling. Based on the findings, the study proposes policy directions, revealing that Korean media coverage of drug issues has been predominantly oriented toward criminal justice approaches, with relatively limited attention given to treatment and prevention strategies. Accordingly, the study recommends the continued strengthening of criminal law enforcement to curb the proliferation of drugs, while simultaneously promoting treatment and rehabilitation through integrated social and policy-based initiatives. Furthermore, it advocates for the enhancement of preventive education through public health frameworks, the establishment of multi-centered and multi-layered cooperative governance in response to international drug crimes, and a shift in media focus toward prevention and treatment.