More than 900 illegal online posts for Mounjaro, Wegovy found in Korea
Authorities moved to block hundreds of online posts illegally selling or promoting Wegovy, Mounjaro and other prescription obesity drugs.
Officials show counterfeit weight-loss pills and drugs confiscated during customs inspections at Incheon International Airport on Sept. 17.
NEWS1
Hundreds of online posts illegally selling or promoting the sale of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have been caught by Korean authorities, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday.
The ministry found 949 posts on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) obesity drugs that violated the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission and other authorities to block access to them.
Posts that directly sold the drugs or directed users to sales websites accounted for the largest share, with 716 cases, or 75.4 percent.
Another 129 posts, or 13.6 percent, promoted sales websites through online cafes and blogs. Some 72 posts, or 7.6 percent, used social media accounts to arrange sales through one-on-one chats. Another 32 cases, or 3.4 percent, involved secondhand transactions between individuals.
GLP-1 obesity drugs are prescription medications that must be administered at prescribed doses according to instructions from a pharmacist. Their sale or purchase through overseas online shopping platforms or transactions between individuals is prohibited.
The drugs must also be kept at appropriate temperatures throughout distribution, as improper storage during shipment can compromise their quality.
“Products purchased directly from overseas have not been approved in Korea, so their safety and efficacy have not been sufficiently verified,” a ministry official said. “Their manufacturing and distribution processes also cannot be confirmed, which raises the risk that they could be counterfeit or substandard medicines.”
The ministry official further noted that consumers who purchase or use the drugs illegally may have difficulty obtaining legal protections, such as recalls or compensation, even if they suffer harm from using the products.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[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.
