MFDS Cracks Down on Personal Sales of Pharmaceuticals via Secondhand Markets
"Online Sales of Pharmaceuticals Are Illegal"
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 25th that it had inspected illegal pharmaceutical sales posts in cooperation with major online secondhand trading platforms, including Danggeun Market, Bunjang, and Junggonara, from May 12 to 30. As a result, a total of 2,829 cases of illegal sales were identified, leading to the removal of posts and sanctions on accounts.
Cases of personal sales of pharmaceuticals posted on secondhand markets detected. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
The Ministry explained that this joint inspection was conducted to eradicate illegal sales of pharmaceuticals and prevent misuse, following confirmation of cases where pharmaceuticals were traded between individuals on online secondhand platforms.
Major violations detected included: 599 cases involving skin disease treatments, 477 cases of antacids, 459 cases of anti-inflammatory painkillers, 289 cases of hair loss treatments, 143 cases of burn treatments, 124 cases of laxatives, 124 cases of eye drops, 108 cases of digestive aids, 93 cases of nutritional supplements, and 413 cases involving other products such as athlete's foot treatments, artificial perfusion agents, herbal diet medicines, antipyretic analgesics, and antihistamines.
The Ministry emphasized that selling pharmaceuticals online is illegal. In particular, pharmaceuticals traded between individuals carry a high risk of deterioration or contamination. Therefore, over-the-counter medicines should be purchased at pharmacies, and prescription medicines should be used only after a doctor's prescription and under a pharmacist's guidance and counseling.
Additionally, information on approved pharmaceuticals can be found on the 'Drug Safety Korea' website. When using pharmaceuticals, it is essential to fully understand the usage instructions, dosage, and precautions.
Since 2021, the Ministry has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with major secondhand trading platforms to collaborate on promptly blocking posts that violate relevant laws, setting prohibited keywords, strengthening voluntary monitoring, and operating hotlines. Since last year, joint inspections by the Ministry and secondhand trading platforms have been conducted annually.
A representative from Danggeun Market, which participated in this joint inspection, stated, "We are strengthening technical measures such as monitoring keywords related to pharmaceuticals and automatically filtering posts," and added, "We will continue to work with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to create a safe environment for peer-to-peer transactions."
The Ministry stated, "We will continue to make active efforts to establish a sound distribution order for pharmaceuticals by strengthening inspections to eradicate illegal online sales and advertising of pharmaceuticals and prevent consumer harm, based on broad public-private cooperation."
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