Because of this, Kim argues that investigators' rights to use undercover techniques in the digital world to obtain evidence should be recognized to sustain investigative power against drug crimes, Kim argued. This would allow investigators to find out where narcotics are being hidden, and how the money comes and goes in online drug trades.
Under Korean law, evidence obtained through deceptive measures by investigators is only admissible in court with the purpose of detecting online juvenile offenders, as of September 2021. This was following the "Nth Room" case, which involved exploitation of children and adolescents via Telegram chat rooms.
Drug dealers are migrating to encrypted online spaces such as secret chat rooms on Telegram, or the Dark Web, which requires special software to access, he explained. They attract drug users or those curious about drugs, let them pick up the substances at a secret space shared between them and have them pay in cryptocurrency.
Although "Narco-Saints" was inspired by the operation he was involved in, Kim said there was no longer much opportunity for the kind of drug bust it portrays, in which undercover investigators pose as buyers and arrest the suppliers. In the age of cryptocurrency and private communications, buyers and sellers no longer need to meet.