Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Crack Down on 7 Illegal Pharmaceutical Wholesalers

Cases of Illegal Activities by Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Detected by the Gyeonggi-do Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare

Gyeonggi Province has identified seven 'pharmaceutical wholesalers' violating quality control wholesale operations such as drug receipt and shipment and expiration dates.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare announced on the 12th that from April 12 to May 12, they inspected 55 pharmaceutical wholesalers in the province and found seven places (nine cases) violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.

Among the major violations, pharmaceutical wholesaler A located in Siheung City was found to have formally registered a pharmacist as the pharmaceutical wholesale business manager (pharmacist), but the pharmacist who was supposed to manage the business was not regularly present, and the wholesaler conducted drug shipment operations, resulting in the lending and borrowing of pharmacist licenses.

Pharmaceutical wholesaler B in Yongin City stored food items that could cause contamination mixed inside a refrigerator dedicated to drug storage, and pharmaceutical wholesaler C in Siheung City transported drugs without attaching identification signs on the drug transport vehicle, which was caught during this inspection.

Pharmaceutical wholesaler D in Suwon City stored expired defective drugs in refrigeration without separating them from general drugs and failed to keep records related to the disposal of defective drugs.

The current 'Pharmaceutical Affairs Act' stipulates that lending and borrowing of pharmacist licenses is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won, and violations related to the safety and quality distribution management of drugs are punishable by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare, emphasized, "If we do not thoroughly crack down on the safety and quality-related distribution management of drugs, it can seriously harm the health of residents. We will continuously crack down on illegal activities and do our best to prevent recurrence."

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