[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered a large number of companies violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act by selling expired veterinary drugs or selling veterinary drugs based solely on the animal owner's word without conducting any medical examination.
The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police announced on the 23rd that from the 27th of last month to the 2nd of this month, they investigated a total of 90 locations, including animal hospitals reported under the 'Veterinarian Act,' animal pharmacies registered under the 'Pharmaceutical Affairs Act,' and veterinary drug wholesalers, and found 32 illegal acts at 25 locations related to the illegal distribution of veterinary drugs.
The main violations include ▲ lending pharmacist licenses (1 case) ▲ selling or storing and displaying expired veterinary drugs for sale (14 cases) ▲ selling veterinary drugs without a prescription or failing to prepare or keep prescriptions and transaction records (4 cases) ▲ selling veterinary drugs without examining the animal (2 cases) ▲ failing to prepare or preserve records of human drug transactions (5 cases) ▲ and others (6 cases).
In one violation case, a veterinary drug wholesaler located in Bucheon, identified as Company ㄱ, was caught operating by lending a pharmacist license.
An animal hospital located in Icheon, identified as Company ㄴ, was found to have sold veterinary drugs to a veterinary drug wholesaler located in Yeoju, identified as Company ㄷ. Animal hospitals are prohibited from selling veterinary drugs to anyone other than the animal owner, and veterinary drug wholesalers cannot purchase veterinary drugs from animal hospitals, as they are not drug suppliers. This constitutes a violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
A veterinary drug wholesaler located in Yongin, identified as Company ㄹ, was caught storing veterinary drugs that had expired 16 months ago in a drug display cabinet within the business premises for the purpose of sale.
An animal hospital located in Yongin, identified as Company ㅁ, was caught prescribing or selling drugs based solely on the animal owner's word without actually examining the animal. Current law considers consulting with the animal owner or manager about the animal's symptoms without examining the animal as not constituting 'medical treatment.'
The Special Judicial Police plan to file criminal charges against the responsible parties of the identified companies and refer them to the prosecution.
Yoon Tae-wan, head of the Special Judicial Police of the province, stated, "We will continue to do our best to prevent illegal activities at all stages related to the manufacturing, import, sale, and management of veterinary drugs."
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