[2020 National Audit] "5 Years of Chinese Vaccine Imports 14 Times Exports"

Gu Ja-geun "Half of Domestic Flu Vaccines Produced Using Imported Vaccine Raw Materials"
"Sharp Increase in Vaccine Deaths... Strengthened Inspection of Chinese Vaccine Raw Materials"

On the 20th, citizens are receiving flu vaccinations at the Korea Health Management Association Seoul Western Branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where the free influenza (flu) vaccination program is being conducted. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been revealed that the amount spent on purchasing vaccines from China over the past five years is 14 times the amount sold to China.

This investigation result comes at a time when the recent vaccine-related deaths have emerged as a social issue, raising the need to strengthen safety reviews of Chinese-made vaccines.

On the 23rd, Koo Ja-geun, a member of the People Power Party of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Resources, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee, analyzed import-export statistics from the Korea Customs Service and found that from 2015 to 2019, the amount of vaccines exported to China was 3.5 tons, worth $1,076,000 (approximately 1.2 billion KRW), whereas imports amounted to 17.2 tons, worth $14,801,000 (approximately 16.7 billion KRW).

The import value is about 14 times the export value.

China Vaccine Import and Export Status. (Data provided by Gu Ja-geun, Office of the People Power Party)

As of 2018, Korea's self-sufficiency rate for raw pharmaceutical materials was only 26.4%. A significant portion of raw pharmaceutical ingredients is imported from countries with low labor costs such as China and India. It is known that in 2018, 33% of raw materials were imported from China and 9.5% from India.

In the case of vaccines (limited to human medicinal use, HS code 3002200000), exports to China steadily decreased from 1.5 tons in 2015, 1.9 tons in 2016, 0.1 tons in 2017, to 0.1 tons in 2018. There were no exports last year.

On the other hand, vaccine imports recorded 0.1 tons in 2015, 5.2 tons in 2016, 3.6 tons in 2017, 6.7 tons in 2018, and 1.8 tons last year.

There are eight domestic and two overseas companies supplying flu vaccines. Among these 10 companies, five receive vaccine bulk materials for production.

With 16 reports of vaccine-related deaths recently submitted, public anxiety has reached its peak, and measures are necessary, according to Representative Koo.

Representative Koo emphasized, "As vaccine imports from China are rapidly increasing, public anxiety about Chinese-made vaccines is also growing. A thorough investigation into the safety of Chinese vaccines is necessary."