1. Reason for Revision

Since the Narcotic Control Act has been revised to prohibit medical practitioners who handle narcotic drugs from prescribing and administering to themselves narcotic or psychoactive drugs that are likely to result in significant physical or mental harm by causing significant addiction or dependence, or from issuing a prescription indicating such drugs for themselves (Law No. 20214; promulgated on February 6, 2024; effective from February 7, 2025), the proposed amendment aims to provide the matters delegated by the Act and to provide the grounds for simplifying the approval procedure for persons who enter or leave the country with narcotic or psychotropic drugs for a short stay in the country provided that the drugs carried contain the same ingredients as the main ingredients of a permitted drug in small quantities.

2. Main contents

a. The revision stipulates that medical practitioners who handle drugs should not prescribe and administer drugs to themselves (Newly established Article 34-4 of the draft).

b. When a person enters the country carrying narcotics or psychotropic drugs for their own personal medication, the documents to be submitted will be simplified if the drugs are the same as domestically-permitted drugs and if that person is staying in the country for a short period of time (30 days or less), and possesses the relevant supporting documents (Article 5 of the draft).