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Busan Metropolitan City Special Judicial Police Crack Down on Illegal Distribution and Sales of Pharmaceuticals, Uncovering Violations at 12 Pharmacies and Wholesalers

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk, announced that it had uncovered violations at a total of 12 businesses (15 cases) following an intensive crackdown on illegal pharmaceutical activities in areas exempt from the separation of prescribing and dispensing conducted from February 23 to April 30.

The investigation was planned to proactively block illegal distribution and sales of pharmaceuticals that could threaten the health and safety of citizens. The operation focused on illegal pharmaceutical distribution and sales exploiting the characteristics of areas exempt from the separation of prescribing and dispensing, the operational status of supervising pharmacists at pharmaceutical wholesalers involving the lending and borrowing of pharmacist licenses, and compliance with pharmaceutical storage standards.

The violations identified included unauthorized pharmaceutical sales by unlicensed individuals (2 cases), lending and borrowing of pharmacist licenses (2 cases), sales and storage/display of unapproved pharmaceuticals for sale (2 cases), improper employment of supervising pharmacists (2 cases), storage/display of expired pharmaceuticals (4 cases), failure to comply with pharmaceutical storage temperature standards and omission of recordkeeping for storage facilities (1 case), dispensing and sales of prescription drugs exceeding the three-day limit in areas exempt from the separation of prescribing and dispensing (1 case), and failure to provide medication guidance for dispensed drugs (1 case).

In one major violation case, Pharmacy “A,” located in an area exempt from the separation of prescribing and dispensing, was caught selling pharmaceuticals through a regular employee without a pharmacist license.

Pharmaceutical wholesaler “B” was required under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act to appoint a pharmacist as the manager of wholesale operations. However, from June 2024 through April of this year, the wholesaler operated without a supervising pharmacist and instead borrowed the pharmacist license of an acquaintance, Pharmacist A.

Pharmaceutical wholesaler “C” sold unapproved pharmaceuticals that had not received authorization from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to Pharmacy “D.” Pharmacy “D” was subsequently caught storing and displaying the unapproved pharmaceutical “Jinjumo” together with approved pharmaceuticals on its display shelves for the purpose of sale.

In another case, pharmaceutical wholesaler “E” violated pharmaceutical storage standards by storing pharmaceuticals requiring refrigeration below 5 degrees Celsius at a temperature of 11 degrees Celsius in a dedicated pharmaceutical refrigerator. The wholesaler also failed to prepare and retain temperature records for pharmaceutical storage facilities for the required two-year period. Pharmacy “F,” located in an area exempt from the separation of prescribing and dispensing, was caught dispensing and selling a five-day supply of prescription drugs despite regulations limiting sales to a maximum three-day supply for adults.

Busan Metropolitan City’s Special Judicial Police plan to criminally charge the pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers involved in the violations uncovered through this investigation, refer them to the prosecution, and notify the relevant local governments.

Under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, individuals who are not pharmacists but sell pharmaceuticals, those who lend or borrow pharmacist licenses, and those who sell or store/display unapproved pharmaceuticals for sale may face imprisonment of up to five years or fines of up to KRW 50 million. In addition, pharmaceutical wholesalers that violate regulations requiring the appointment of pharmacists to oversee operations may face imprisonment of up to three years or fines of up to KRW 30 million.

Acting Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City Kim Kyung-duk stated, “As pharmaceuticals are directly connected to the health of citizens, serious violations such as storing expired pharmaceuticals and lending or borrowing professional licenses cannot be tolerated.” He added, “Through this investigation, we will continue rigorous crackdowns to eradicate illegal activities in vulnerable sectors such as areas exempt from the separation of prescribing and dispensing and pharmaceutical wholesalers.”