Illegal imports of Wegovy, Mounjaro surge as overseas direct purchases proliferate
Customs detected more than 4,000 illegal imports of Wegovy and Mounjaro in the first half of 2026, mostly through international mail.
An informational display for Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy is shown at a launch event at a hotel in Seoul on Oct. 15, 2024.
YONHAP
More than 4,000 cases of illegal imports of the obesity drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro were detected in Korea in the first half of this year, 3.5 times the number recorded for all of last year.
A total of 4,155 cases involving the illegal import of obesity treatments including Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) were detected from January through June, according to the Korea Customs Service on Monday. That compares with 1,189 cases for all of last year.
Illegal imports have risen rapidly since the drugs were launched in Korea. The number of detected cases surged from just four in 2024 to 1,189 last year and exceeded 4,000 in just the first half of this year. A total of 5,348 cases were detected from 2024 through the first half of this year.
Most of the illegal imports involved direct overseas purchases sent through international mail. Cases detected through postal shipments rose from two in 2024 to 1,046 last year and 3,489 in the first half of this year. Postal shipments accounted for 84.8 percent of all cases detected over the period.
Cases involving travelers personally bringing the drugs into Korea also increased sharply, from one in 2024 to 134 last year and 656 in the first half of this year. Imports through express shipments totaled one, nine and 10 cases, respectively, over the same periods.
Ordinary medicines may be brought into Korea in limited quantities for personal use. Wegovy and Mounjaro, however, are designated as “harmful drugs” by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and cannot be brought into the country in any quantity without a recommendation for exemption from import requirements verification.
The Korea Customs Service is holding all Wegovy and Mounjaro products detected during customs clearance and subsequently destroying them.
“Bringing Wegovy and Mounjaro into the country without authorization is a serious illegal act that may be punishable under the Customs Act,” a Korea Customs Service official said. “We will thoroughly block the illegal entry of harmful drugs at the border.”
BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
