'1 Million Won Prescription with 1 Million Won Payment'... JW Jungwoo Pharmaceutical Fined 29.8 Billion Won for 'Rebate'

JW Pharmaceutical, which gave rebates to 1,500 hospitals and clinics nationwide, was fined 29.8 billion KRW by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC).

On the 19th, the KFTC announced that it imposed corrective orders and a fine of 29.8 billion KRW on JW Pharmaceutical for violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, and reported the corporation and CEO Shin Young-seop to the prosecution.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the KFTC, from 2014 to 2018, JW Pharmaceutical established and managed a headquarters-level "promotion plan" to provide various economic supports to hospitals and clinics to increase the adoption and prescriptions of 18 pharmaceutical products it manufactured and sold each year. The promotion plan included schemes such as "100:100," which paid 1 million KRW for every 1 million KRW prescribed, and the "Treasure Map," which selected new rebate targets based on existing prescription volumes.

Following this plan, JW Pharmaceutical provided economic benefits totaling 6.5 billion KRW through approximately 23,000 instances across about 1,400 hospitals nationwide, using various methods such as ▲ cash and goods provision ▲ support for hospital event expenses ▲ provision of meals and entertainment ▲ golf hospitality ▲ support for academic conferences and symposiums ▲ support for participants in overseas academic conferences ▲ support for clinical and observational research expenses.

Additionally, from 2014 to 2018, JW Pharmaceutical provided economic benefits worth approximately 530 million KRW through about 500 instances to around 100 hospitals and clinics nationwide to maintain and increase prescriptions of 44 other products. Illegal acts were also uncovered, such as disguising cash support as internal staff dinners and other expenses to conceal rebate activities in accounting records.

The KFTC stated, "We will continue to monitor unfair practices to eradicate widespread rebate activities in the pharmaceutical market and establish fair trade order."

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