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The number of illicit fentanyl trafficking cases in Korea has increased sharply this year, a report showed on Sunday.

According to a report from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety shared by Rep. Kim Yoon of the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea, there were 202 cases of online fentanyl sales recorded from Jan. 1 through June 21.

This shows a more than three-fold increase from 62 cases detected during all of 2023.

Fentanyl, known by its street name "tranq," among many others, and referred to in media reports as a "zombie drug," is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, accordding to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

Fentanyl can be prescribed to patients suffering acute or chronic pains. But in recent years, an increasing number of people have been trying to obtain the highly addictive and potentially life threatening drug online.

When Ministry of Food and Drug Safety officials discover illicit fentanyl trading, they request that the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) ban public access to selling site. However, this process often takes months, and few perpetrators face penalties, as most of these operations are based overseas.

Of the cases detected this year, the KCSC, on average, took 86 days to decide to shut down access to such sites following the ministry's request, according to the lawmaker's office.

"Even if the drug ministry detects such illegal trading online, it takes such a long time for the KCSC to take action," the lawmaker said, calling for regulatory reforms to speed up the process.