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Attempts to illegally bring the weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro into South Korea through personal overseas purchases are surging. The lower cost of buying from foreign websites, compared with obtaining a domestic prescription, is seen as driving the increase
The Korea Customs Service said on the 24th that it caught 4,155 illegal imports of weight-loss drugs, including Mounjaro and Wegovy, in the first six months of this year. That is 3.5 times the 1,189 cases recorded for all of last year
Illegal imports rose quickly after the drugs launched in South Korea. There were just four cases in 2024, but the figure jumped to 1,189 last year and topped 4,000 in the first half of this year alone. Cumulative cases from 2024 through the first half of this year totaled 5,348
Illegal imports were concentrated in overseas direct purchases sent by international mail. Cases caught through the mail rose from two in 2024 to 1,046 last year and soared to 3,489 in the first half of this year, accounting for 84.8% of all cumulative cases
The Korea Customs Service believes that cases of buying weight-loss drugs individually from foreign sales websites and having them delivered by international mail have risen sharply
Price differences are also cited as a factor boosting demand for overseas purchases. A month’s supply of Wegovy or Mounjaro can be bought on foreign websites for about 150,000 won, in some cases more than half the price of buying with a domestic prescription. On some foreign websites, a month’s supply has reportedly been purchased for 70,000 to 100,000 won
Imports through travelers’ personal belongings also rose. Cases caught grew from one in 2024 to 134 last year and 656 in the first half of this year. Importst year and 10 in the first half of this year
Unlike general medications, however, Wegovy and Mounjaro face restrictions on personal purchase and import from abroad
Under the Korea Customs Service’s notice on import clearance procedures, ordinary medications may be brought into the country for personal use within set quantities — six bottles or less, or up to a three-month supply
But Mounjaro and Wegovy are designated as “harmful drugs” by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety and cannot be imported without a recommendation letter exempting them from import requirement verification
For harmful drugs reported by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, the Korea Customs Service blocks all imports regardless of quantity. Weight-loss drugs caught at the clearance stage are held and then destroyed in full
“Unauthorized imports of Wegovy and Mounjaro are a serious violation that can be punished under the Customs Act,” a Korea Customs Service official said. “We will thoroughly block the illegal inflow of harmful drugs at the border.”
#Wegovy#Mounjaro#WeightLossDrugs#KoreaCustoms#IllegalImports#DirectPurchase
Original reporting by Lim Hye-rin for Seoul Economic Daily
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreignxact original wording
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