공공통계와 언론 빅데이터 분석을 활용한 2020-2024 한국 청소년 마약범죄 양상 분석 = An Analysis of Patterns of Juvenile Drug Crime in South Korea, 2020-2024 Utilizing Public Statistics and New Big Data

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the short-term patterns and changing characteristics of juvenile drug crime in South Korea over the focused period from 2020 to 2024. Rather than adopting a long-term historical time-series approach, the study employs a focused short-term time-series design and integrates public statistics with news big-data analysis within a mixed-methods triangulation framework. The purpose is to identify how recent quantitative changes in juvenile drug crime correspond with shifts in social discourse and policy response. The statistical analysis shows that the number of juvenile drug offenders under the age of 19 increased sharply from 313 in 2020 to 1,477 in 2023, representing an approximately 4.7-fold rise, and then declined to 649 in 2024. Despite this decrease, the 2024 figure remained about 2.1 times higher than that of 2020, indicating that juvenile drug crime continues to exceed the pre-escalation level. In addition, cases involving children under the age of 14 were identified during the study period, suggesting a trend toward a lower age of drug exposure and offending. The analysis further indicates a notable change in the type of substances involved. In 2024, 86.9% of juvenile drug offenses were related to psychotropic drugs, showing that the pattern of juvenile drug crime has shifted from a cannabis-centered structure to one increasingly associated with medical and synthetic substances, including Dietamin and fentanyl. This suggests that recent juvenile drug crime is more closely linked to accessibility, misuse of medical substances, and online distribution networks than to traditional illicit drug pathways. The news big-data analysis of 11,143 articles also demonstrates that media discourse evolved through five concentrated phases during the 2020 –2024 period: an enforcement-statistical phase in 2020, a digital distribution phase in 2021, a youth-digital convergence phase in 2022, a discursive turning point with growing prevention awareness in 2023, and a policy- and cooperation-oriented phase in 2024. In particular, the emergence of keywords such as treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation in 2024 suggests that the discourse has gradually expanded beyond punishment and crackdown toward a more intervention-oriented and recovery-centered perspective. Theoretically, this study draws on subcultural theory, social learning theory, and labeling theory to interpret juvenile drug crime not merely as individual deviance, but as a phenomenon shaped by peer influence, digital environments, stigma, and structural exclusion. From this perspective, the persistence and transformation of juvenile drug crime should be understood in relation to both social context and institutional response. Based on these findings, the study argues that a punitive response centered only on enforcement and punishment is insufficient to address the recent patterns of juvenile drug crime. Instead, a paradigm shift is needed toward a multilayered and integrated response system encompassing prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and social reintegration. In this regard, the study emphasizes the policy significance of therapeutic jurisprudence and restorative justice as alternative frameworks for responding to juvenile drug offenders. Accordingly, this study proposes several policy directions: legislative improvement, the development of youth-specific treatment and rehabilitation programs, systematic training of rehabilitation professionals, the establishment of a 24-hour integrated counseling and referral system, the activation of community-based recovery infrastructures such as DARC and Narcotics Anonymous, and the introduction of a Korean-style juvenile drug court. Such measures may contribute not only to criminal justice reform, but also to the advancement of public health, human rights, and sustainable recovery support for adolescents. Finally, this study is meaningful in that it presents an empirically grounded integrated analysis of recent juvenile drug crime through a focused short-term time-series perspective. Future research should expand this line of inquiry by examining the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, recidivism outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and longer-term trend changes beyond 2024. Keywords: juvenile drug crime, public statistics, news big data, triangulation design, restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, juvenile drug court, addiction rehabilitation, policy analysis

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 제1장 서 론 1
• 제1절 연구 목적 및 연구 질문 1
• 1. 연구 목적 1
• 2. 연구 질문 4
• 제2절 연구 범위 및 연구 방법 4
• 1. 연구 범위 4
• 2. 연구 방법 6
• 제2장 이론적 배경 9
• 제1절 마약 및 마약중독에 대한 이론적 기초 9
• 1. 마약의 정의 및 종류 9
• 2. 마약중독 이론 18
• 3. 마약중독과 범죄의 관계 31
• 제2절 청소년 마약범죄 35
• 1. 마약류범죄 35
• 2. 의료용 마약류 41
• 3. 회복적 사법과 치료적 사법 43
• 제3절 해외 청소년 마약범죄 정책 47
• 1. 미국 청소년 마약범죄 정책 49
• 2. 영국 청소년 마약범죄 정책 54
• 3. 호주 청소년 마약범죄 정책 56
• 4. 일본 청소년 마약범죄 정책 58
• 5. 해외 청소년 마약정책의 비교 61
• 제4절 선행연구 검토 및 평가 63
• 제3장 분석방법 66
• 제1절 연구설계 66
• 1. 트라이앵귤레이션 설계 근거 66
• 2. 연구절차 67
• 3. 연구윤리 69
• 제2절 공공통계 분석 70
• 1. 분석자료 70
• 2. 분석변수 71
• 3. 분석기법 72
• 제3절 언론 빅데이터 분석 72
• 1. 분석자료 72
• 2. 분석변수 73
• 3. 분석기법 74
• 제4절 사례분석 75
• 1. 사례분석 절차 75
• 2. 사례의 선정사유 79
• 3. 사례의 특징 82
• 제5절 통합분석 84
• 제4장 분석결과 86
• 제1절 공공통계 분석 결과 86
• 1. 연도별 시계열 변화 분석 87
• 2. 인구학적 특성 변화 89
• 3. 마약류 유형별 분석 93
• 제2절 언론보도 분석 결과 95
• 1. 보도량 변화 분석 96
• 2. 단어 빈도 분석 96
• 제3절 사례분석 결과 103
• 1. 보도사건 분석 103
• 2. 사례 분석 108
• 제4절 통합분석 결과 111
• 1. 언론 담론과 공공통계 변화 양상 분석 결과 113
• 2. 통합분석의 함의와 쟁점 114
• 제5장 결론 118
• 제1절 연구결과 요약 및 논의 118
• 1. 연구결과 요약 118
• 2. 연구결과 논의 123
• 제2절 연구 시사점 127
• 1. 이론적 시사점 127
• 2. 정책적 시사점 129
• 3. 실천적 시사점 131
• 제3절 향후 연구 방향 135
• 참 고 문 헌 137
• 〈국문초록〉 154