The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety discovered advertisements for overseas medical products illegally distributed in Korea through overseas direct purchases and purchasing agents and urged consumers to be cautious.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety noted on the 11th that it inspected cases of drug, quasi-drug, and medical device distribution through overseas online shopping malls and identified 327 illegal sales advertisements, requesting to block access to them.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducted inspections from the 13th to the 17th of last month and detected medical products being sold on overseas direct purchase and purchasing agent platforms such as Qoo10, AliExpress, Temu, and Shein. The inspections focused on products with high demand or suspected to cause consumer harm.
The number of detections by overseas online shopping mall showed Qoo10 accounted for 232 cases, making up 70.9% of the total. This was followed by AliExpress with 45 cases, Temu with 43 cases, and Shein with 7 cases. By product type, pharmaceuticals such as anti-inflammatory pain relievers accounted for the largest number at 181 cases, followed by quasi-drugs like toothpaste at 46 cases, and medical devices such as nasal dilators at 100 cases.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety explained that it is illegal for sellers online to request personal customs clearance numbers from buyers while acting as agents for purchasing overseas pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, and medical devices. Selling these items to domestic consumers through overseas direct purchases is similarly illegal.
Overseas medical products have unclear manufacturing and distribution channels, and there is a possibility that they might be counterfeit or contain harmful substances, making it difficult to guarantee their safety. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety cautioned that consumer harm could arise from misuse, urging vigilance in purchasing overseas medical products.