221 Cases of False Advertising and Illegal Distribution Detected by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 5th that it has identified 221 violations after inspecting online false advertisements and illegal sales posts related to children's height growth products, and has requested access blocking and administrative actions.
Among the detected violations, there were 116 posts with false advertisements about food products and 105 posts illegally selling pharmaceuticals (growth hormone drugs).
Among the false advertisements, the most common were 99 cases of ads misleading consumers by confusing general foods as health functional foods with phrases like 'height growth supplements,' 'helps height growth,' and 'ways to grow taller.' There were also 10 cases of false or exaggerated advertisements claiming unapproved functionalities such as 'height growth,' 5 cases of ads causing confusion by presenting foods as pharmaceuticals like 'height growth medicine,' and advertisements that deceptively portrayed prevention or treatment effects for diseases such as Seongjosukjeung (precocious puberty) and used testimonials to mislead consumers.
Online sales of pharmaceuticals are illegal, and acts of selling growth hormone drugs through online platforms such as secondhand trading platforms (73 cases), social networking services (SNS, 14 cases), internet cafes (8 cases), open markets (7 cases), blogs (2 cases), and shopping malls (1 case) were also detected.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety advised, "When consumers purchase food online, they must check in advance for health functional food certification marks and functional information to avoid being misled by false advertisements," and added, "It is recommended to take pharmaceuticals by visiting hospitals and pharmacies under the prescription and guidance of doctors and pharmacists, and to avoid purchasing illegally distributed pharmaceuticals online."
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