4.5% of Teens in South Korea’s Daejeon Say They’re Addicted to Online Gambling

Almost 5% of teenagers in one of the most populous parts of the South Korean city of Daejeon admit that they are “addicted” to online gambling platforms.

The South Korean media outlet Good Morning Chungcheong reported that Yuseong District authorities asked 1,364 middle and high school students, as well as out-of-school teenagers, to participate in a survey on addiction.

The district said its survey had revealed that smartphone addiction was the most prevalent form of addiction. Over 23% of respondents claimed their cell phone use was problematic.

This was followed by video game addiction at 7.6%, followed by online gambling and social media at 4.5% each.

A further 3% said they were addicted to alcohol, with 1.4% confessing to having narcotics addictions.

Teen Addicts: Problems Staying Focused

Yuseoung consulted experts who expressed concern that youth addiction was now “expanding beyond drinking and smoking to include addictions based on the digital space.”

The survey respondents said that their gambling and other addictions were causing them to be late for school and appointments. Others said that they had developed problems focusing on any single matter.

But there were also signs that intervention efforts are now bearing fruit. The outlet wrote that 70% of respondents said they had experience using addiction prevention sessions and related resources. The majority of this group found these sessions to be “helpful.”

A local authority official said: “Youth addiction is a social issue that goes beyond individual habits. Based on the results of this survey, we will need to improve the quality of our addiction prevention and management services.”

Youth Initiative: Daejeon Tackles Growth in Gambling

Earlier this month, the newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported on the case of an 18-year-old high school student in the city who turned himself in using the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency’s new online gambling “voluntary reporting system.”

The teenager told police that he had withdrawn money from his parents’ bank accounts using banking apps on their phones.

He then proceeded to gamble the money online, losing over 20 million won ($13,650). The teenager told officers: “I want to quit gambling, even if I have to be punished to do so.”

Daejeon police say that 109 teenagers and children have used the platform since its launch in November 2024. Officials say that 18 of these individuals have since faced prosecution. But most have received suspended jail terms and have since “returned to their normal lives,” a spokesperson said.

A further 51 individuals are “receiving counseling or are undergoing police investigation,” the spokesperson added.

Earlier this month, a South Korean bus driver was filmed using a gambling app while driving a bus on a busy intercity highway.