[2025 Audit] "Wego○○" Instead of "Wegovy"... Surge in False Diet Pill Advertising

Ordinary Foods Disguised as Diet Supplements
Over 3,000 Cases of False Advertising in the Past Five Years
Assemblywoman Kim Seonmin of the Party for National Innovation: "This Is Fraudulent"

Recently, as social interest in obesity treatments such as "Wegovy" and "Mounjaro" has increased, the number of companies caught selling ordinary food products disguised as "edible Wegovy" or "diet pills" has also been rising. These products are simply regular foods with no proven weight loss effects, often just beverages or solid teas, so consumers are advised to exercise caution.

The global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's obesity treatment drug "Wegovy" was released domestically last October, and a notice saying "Belly Fat Medicine In Stock" is posted at a pharmacy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to audit data received by Assemblywoman Kim Seonmin of the Party for National Innovation from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 22nd, there were a total of 3,749 cases over the past five years in which ordinary foods were falsely advertised as health functional foods. Naver Shopping accounted for the highest number with 1,067 cases (28%), followed by manipulated reviews on Naver Blogs and Cafes with 861 cases (22%), and Instagram with 716 cases (19%).

Company A sold a solid tea containing chicory ingredients under the name "Wego○○" to create the impression that it had the effects of Wegovy. On the product sales page, they advertised features such as "edible Wego○○," "officially launched in Korea," "pharmacy-available product," and "GLP-1 effect," making it appear as if the product were a pharmaceutical. In reviews, they used phrases like "Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian also lost weight with GLP-based Wegovy" and "side-effect-free edible Wegovy" to promote the product.

Company B, which falsely advertised processed fruit and vegetable products and solid teas (ordinary foods) as "diet health functional foods," recorded the highest sales among the companies caught, selling approximately 25.5 billion won worth of products and receiving a 20-day business suspension penalty.

The bigger issue is that there are far more companies engaging in false advertising that have not been caught. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We are taking measures to block detected sites. For products where the seller and manufacturer can be identified, we are also requesting administrative action from local governments." However, they also admitted, "We cannot confirm whether the sites are actually blocked."

Assemblywoman Kim emphasized, "There needs to be an effective punishment system, such as preemptively blocking products with similar names and banning sales for repeated violations," and called for fundamental measures to address the issue.