Is Barbiturates legal in South Korea?
- Legal status
- Barbiturates are controlled psychotropic substances under the Narcotics Control Act — a prescription-controlled class transposing the 1971 Convention tiers (secobarbital/pentobarbital/amobarbital higher, phenobarbital/barbital lower).
- Consequences if caught
- Illegal possession or use up to ~10 years or up to 100 million KRW.
- If prescribed or medical
- Phenobarbital is prescribed as a psychotropic antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine); the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are rarely dispensed.
- Documentation
- Every traveller needs MFDS advance import approval for a controlled substance (in force since 2009; it applies extraterritorially to nationals).
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with South Korea’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →