[2020 National Audit] "Illegal Online Sales of Abortion-Inducing Drugs Increased 200 Times in 5 Years"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyun-ui Cho] The illegal online sale of pharmaceuticals such as erectile dysfunction treatments, steroids, and abortion-inducing drugs has surged by more than 60% over the past five years. In particular, the sale of abortion-inducing drugs has increased nearly 200-fold during the same period.

According to the 'Recent 5-Year Online Pharmaceutical Sales Advertisement Detection Status' received by Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the number of detected cases rose from 22,443 in 2015 to 37,343 last year, an increase of 66.4%. This year, 16,816 cases have been detected as of July.

By product category, erectile dysfunction treatments represented by Viagra accounted for the largest share with 63,805 cases (41.4%). This was followed by stimulants and excitants with 13,694 cases (8.8%), skin-related pharmaceuticals with 9,703 cases (6.3%), steroids with 7,161 cases (4.6%), and abortion-inducing drugs with 6,618 cases (4.3%).

The number of abortion-inducing drug cases surged from 12 in 2015 to 2,365 in 2019. Although abortion-inducing drugs are used in 75 countries, they are not imported domestically due to concerns about misuse.

Assemblyman Kim stated, "There is concern that the misuse of pharmaceuticals distributed without prescriptions or that have not been verified can cause various side effects," adding, "It is necessary for regulatory authorities such as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to concentrate their capabilities to ensure that pharmaceuticals without guaranteed safety do not threaten public health."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.