Police Seize Evidence of Pharmacy Law Violations at Food Store

On the 15th of last month, local police confiscated approximately 1,000 items, including prescription drugs that require a doctor's prescription, as evidence of Pharmaceutical Affairs Act violations at a food store in OO-dong, Seogwipo City.

The confiscated medications were transacted through Chinese social networking services (SNS). Sales were conducted by exchanging pricing and pick-up methods in closed group chat rooms. The illegal activity spanned six and a half years, from November 2020 to last month. The primary buyers were identified as undocumented immigrants and Chinese nationals within the province.

Local police have forwarded a woman in her 50s, identified as Ms. A, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, among others. Ms. A has admitted to most of the charges. The confiscated prescription drugs were found to have excessive dosages or were uncertified products in South Korea.

Local police are expanding their investigation into the source of the prescription drugs and whether they were distributed further. As part of a special crackdown on health-related crimes that began last month, 8 cases have been uncovered and are currently under investigation.