MFDS "Unlicensed Health Masks Sold as KF, 10 Million Units Manufactured and Distributed by Offenders Caught"

"Already Sold 4.02 Million Units, Tracking Distribution Channels for 6 Million Units Under Investigation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Manufacturers and distributors who took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to deceive consumers by selling unauthorized masks as health masks (KF94) have been caught in large numbers.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Commissioner Lee Ui-kyung) announced that it had arrested Mr. B, the CEO of Company A, on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act by manufacturing and selling unauthorized health masks, exploiting the social instability caused by COVID-19, and sent four related individuals to the prosecution without detention.

They conspired together and manufactured approximately 10.02 million health masks (worth about 4 billion KRW) from around June 26, 2020, to October 16, 2020, a period of about four months, distributing and selling 4.02 million of them. The distribution channels of the remaining 6 million masks are currently under investigation.

According to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, manufacturing or selling unauthorized quasi-drugs can result in imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW.

Mr. B manufactured unauthorized KF94 masks by mass-producing masks in an unlicensed factory and then packaging them using mask packaging supplied by three licensed companies before delivering them.

Notably, despite being under investigation as suspects, they evaded the investigation by adjusting working hours and other methods while continuing to manufacture and sell unauthorized health masks.

This case began with a consumer report suspecting that the purchased masks were counterfeit, and additional investigations are underway targeting companies distributing unauthorized health masks.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We plan to strictly investigate violating companies to eradicate illegal manufacturing and sales exploiting the social chaos caused by COVID-19," adding, "We will also continue to investigate acts of illegally manufacturing and selling health masks without authorization and selling imported products by falsely claiming them as domestic products."

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