Restrictions Likely to Be Imposed on Cold Medicine Sales Locations and Volumes
Similar Measures Applied to Self-Test Kits Earlier This Year
'6 Million Won Stockpiling' Not Confirmed
Focused Crackdown on Excessive Sales, Resale, and Smuggling Exports
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government has taken measures amid growing concerns over the worsening supply of cold medicine following China's recent transition to 'With Corona.' However, it stated that the reported '6 million won stockpiling' in some media outlets has not been confirmed and that it will focus on strict crackdowns to prevent similar cases from occurring.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held the '4th Cold Medicine Response Public-Private Consultative Meeting' to discuss concerns about stockpiling of cold medicine and the resulting negative impact on supply with related ministries and organizations, and announced that it will strongly respond at the whole-of-government level together with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Customs Service.
First, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced plans to implement distribution improvement measures such as limiting the quantity of cold medicine sold at pharmacies. It plans to hold a Public Health Crisis Response Committee meeting early next week to discuss the timing, targets, and quantity limits of these distribution improvement measures.
Distribution improvement measures refer to actions such as the government restricting medical products, their sales locations, sales procedures, sales volume, and sales conditions through deliberation by the Public Health Crisis Response Committee. Earlier this year, the government also implemented distribution improvement measures related to the supply of COVID-19 self-test kits, requiring prior approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety before shipment and limiting sales locations to pharmacies or convenience stores.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will crack down on stockpiling of cold medicine as reports of such cases continue to emerge. This decision was made because, despite several official letters sent recently to related organizations such as the Korean Pharmaceutical Association and public health centers nationwide, the situation has not improved.
The Ministry emphasized that both excessive sales of cold medicine at pharmacies and purchases by buyers for resale are illegal and subject to punishment. Under the current Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, if a pharmacy wholesales medicines such as by excessive sales, it can be punished by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won, and administrative sanctions such as a three-day suspension of business can be imposed for a first violation. Additionally, if a person who is not a pharmacy operator sells or acquires medicines for this purpose, they can face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.
The Ministry plans to actively promote related matters through posters in cooperation with the Pharmaceutical Association and to enhance detection and strengthen crackdowns by encouraging reporting through consultations with public health centers, the National Police Agency, and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. In particular, it will strengthen publicity and crackdowns focusing on areas where stockpiling for overseas sales is likely to occur.
The Korea Customs Service will also crack down on indiscriminate exports. The Customs Service stated that cold medicines exported abroad for sale rather than personal consumption are subject to export declaration, and it will strengthen inspections of cold medicine exports through cooperation with related agencies such as airport corporations and the Korea Post. Violators will be punished for smuggling under the Customs Act. If caught smuggling, offenders may face imprisonment of up to three years or fines equivalent to the cost of the goods under the Customs Act.
However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that the reported '6 million won worth of cold medicine bulk purchase' in Mangwol-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi Province, as reported by some media outlets recently, has not been confirmed. The Hanam-si Public Health Center, which has jurisdiction over the area, conducted a full survey of all 39 pharmacies in Mangwol-dong and confirmed that no pharmacy sold cold medicine worth 6 million won.
A Ministry official said, "Considering the current shortage of cold medicine, 6 million won worth is an amount difficult for an ordinary pharmacy to hold, and it is unusual for one person to carry about 2,000 boxes in a travel bag, making it hard to view this as a typical case," adding, "We are exploring measures such as requesting an investigation to verify violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act for clear fact-finding."
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