Ganghwa-do airport and crackdown on postal smuggling
Buyers are also punished for wholesaling
On the afternoon of the 27th, a pharmacist was preparing a complete cold medicine at a pharmacy in downtown Jongno-gu, Seoul. yunhap news
The government has decided to limit the number of cold medicines sold in pharmacies as home cold medicines are in short supply due to the outbreak of Corona 19 in China. Strengthen the crackdown on the smuggling of cold medicines through airports and post offices, and actively crack down on the stockpiling of cold medicines for resale.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety and the Korean Customs Service held the Fourth Meeting of the Public-Private Consultative Body on Cold Medicines and decided to implement measures to eradicate the accumulation of medicines against colds. With the recent outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 in Korea, concerns about shortages of cold medicines have increased. As cases of hoarding cold medicines to be smuggled into China have become known through media reports, the government has been required to come up with countermeasures.
The Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety has decided to promote “distribution improvement measures”, such as limiting the number of sales of cold medicines in pharmacies. According to the “Special Law on Promoting the Development and Emergency Supply of Medical Products in Response to the Public Health Crisis”, the Minister of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety can take the necessary measures to improve the distribution of medical products, outlets, procedures of sales, sales volume, conditions of sale, etc. The Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety plans to hold a public health crisis response committee early next week to determine the timing and scope of distribution improvement measures and the sales cap.
Korea Customs Service, together with Airport Corporation and Korea Post, will strengthen the crackdown on the smuggling of cold medicines overseas. According to the Customs Act, to export goods such as cold medicine, the name, specification, quantity and price of the goods must be declared to the customs. Violation of this entails imprisonment of up to three years or a fine equivalent to the cost of the goods.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is actively informing related organizations such as the Korean Pharmaceutical Association and public health centers nationwide about the illegality of overselling of cold medicines and discussing ways to increase the effectiveness of the crackdowns. Prepare measures to strengthen detection and enforcement by activating relationships with public health centers, the National Police Agency and the Health Insurance Review and Evaluation Service, and intensively strengthen public relations and enforcement by targeting regions with a ‘high hoarding possibility for overseas sales.
Both the seller and the buyer are subject to punishment for selling too much cold medicine. The Pharmaceutical Affairs Act prohibits pharmacies from selling medicines in bulk. In case of violation, the pharmacy will be suspended for up to one month. Furthermore, other than pharmacies, they cannot sell medicines or buy medicines for the purpose of selling them. Failure to do so is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said: “The over-purchase of cold medicines for resale is not only a deterioration of the supply and demand situation, but also an undesirable act in terms of misuse and abuse. of medicines”.
