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Busan City Special Judicial Police Uncover Illegal Distribution of Over 200 Million KRW Worth of Veterinary Medicines

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The Busan Metropolitan City Special Judicial Police (SJP) announced that it had uncovered illegal distribution and sales of veterinary medicines through intensive inspections conducted between January 20 and April 11, 2025. A total of 13 violations were discovered at 12 locations, including veterinary medicine wholesalers, animal hospitals, and adult product stores.

The crackdown was launched to prevent health hazards in response to Korea’s growing pet population, now exceeding 10 million, and to ensure the safe and lawful distribution of veterinary pharmaceuticals.

Major violations included:

• ●Purchasing medicines from unauthorized suppliers (1 case)

• ●Selling veterinary medicines without proper licenses (1 case)

• ●Storing and displaying expired medicines for sale (7 cases)

• ●Failing to record and retain transaction details (1 case)

• ●Selling fake or unapproved drugs, including erectile dysfunction treatments and local anesthetics (3 cases)

Key Cases

• ●A veterinary wholesaler was found to have purchased 14 types of anti-inflammatory drugs worth over 97 million KRW from unauthorized animal hospitals on 94 occasions since 2020 and resold them to clinics.

• ●An animal hospital illegally sold over 200 million KRW worth of veterinary medicines to a wholesaler, despite not being authorized to do so under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.

• ●A pet pharmacy stored and displayed veterinary drugs 16 months past their expiration dates for sale.

• ●Another pharmacy failed to document sales of veterinary antibiotics, violating record-keeping obligations.

• ●An unmanned adult product shop was caught selling unapproved medicines like “Procomil Spray” and “King Power Spray” containing local anesthetics via vending machines. They also sold counterfeit 100mg Cialis tablets, a fake erectile dysfunction drug.

Lab tests conducted by the Busan Institute of Health and Environment revealed high concentrations of lidocaine in the sprays:

• ●Procomil Spray: 155.5 mg/g

• ●King Power Spray: 208.8 mg/g
  Lidocaine can cause allergic reactions, swelling, and even breathing difficulties if used improperly.

All violators are being referred to the prosecutor’s office for further action. Depending on the offense, they may face:

• ●Up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million KRW for unlicensed sales or distribution of fake/unapproved medicines

• ●Up to 1 year in prison or a 10 million KRW fine for selling expired drugs or unauthorized purchases by wholesalers

• ●Fines of up to 1 million KRW for failure to record and retain veterinary medicine transaction history

Mayor Park Heong-joon emphasized,

“In this era of 10 million companion animals, we will continue to conduct regular crackdowns to eliminate illegal drug distribution and ensure the safety of both animals and citizens.”