'Arrest Warrants Denied for Two Koryo Je Yak Employees on Illegal Rebate Charges'

Court: "Difficult to Recognize Necessity and Reasonableness of Detention"
Allegations of Providing Rebates to Doctors in Exchange for Prescription Drugs

Arrest warrants for two executives of Koryo Pharmaceutical, who are accused of providing illegal rebates in exchange for doctors using their company's drugs, were dismissed by the court.

According to the legal community on the 28th, Kim Seok-beom, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) the day before for Koryo Pharmaceutical executive Yoon Mo and employee Ryu Mo, who are accused of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, and dismissed the warrants citing the necessity of protecting the right to defense, among other reasons.

The court ruled that "considering their social ties and other factors, it is difficult to recognize the necessity and appropriateness of detention" for them.

Yoon is in charge of the company's sales management, and Ryu handles accounting affairs. They are accused of being involved in providing economic benefits to doctors in exchange for using Koryo Pharmaceutical products. Ryu is also accused of evidence tampering.

The police have been investigating after detecting circumstances in which Koryo Pharmaceutical provided illegal rebates to about 1,000 doctors in exchange for prescribing their drugs. It has been identified that doctors who received the rebates were given cash or valuables worth from several million to tens of millions of Korean won, as well as golf entertainment. According to the police, as of the 9th, 319 people have been booked in connection with illegal rebate suspicions in the medical field including Koryo Pharmaceutical, of whom 279 have been confirmed as doctors.