The government is pushing to expand the list of "safety over-the-counter medicines" sold at convenience stores from 11 items to as many as 20. Pharmacist groups, including the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, oppose expanding the list, citing safety.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to begin full discussions in the second half of this year on increasing the number of over-the-counter items sold at convenience stores from the current 11 to as many as 20 and expanding sales locations in areas without pharmacies. However, pharmacist groups that have opposed expanding convenience-store OTC items in the past are maintaining their stance that the change is difficult to accept, leaving its prospects uncertain.
The system for selling OTC medicines at convenience stores was introduced in Nov. 2012 to address the inconvenience of buying medicines on holidays or late at night. Under the current Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, the Minister of Health and Welfare designates up to 20 items as convenience-store OTC medicines, considering ingredients, side effects, dosage, dosage form, recognition, and convenience.
If the list grows, consumer convenience improves. A 2019 survey by the Institute for Pharmaceutical Policy Affairs of 1,000 adults found a response rate of 68.9% saying they had bought convenience-store OTC medicines in the past year. Drugmakers are said to be generally not opposed to improving the system, as it increases sales channels for medicines. Still, they are not speaking out aggressively, considering their relationships with pharmacists.
However, pharmacist circles, including pharmacist associations, strongly oppose expanding the list of convenience-store OTC medicines, citing safety and concerns about misuse and abuse. In 2017, a plan to add antidiarrheals, which alleviate diarrhea symptoms, and antacids, which reduce stomach acid action, to convenience-store OTC items was discussed, but negotiations were halted after the Korean Pharmaceutical Association strongly pushed back, including by holding a rally.