Made 3 Billion Won in 8 Years... Operated a Pharmacy Without a Pharmacist License [Economic Crime 24 Hours]

Using Experience at Pharmaceutical Company to Commit Crime
Living a Luxurious Life Driving Multiple Imported Cars

A pharmacy in Bonghwa, Gyeongbuk. It was always bustling with local residents coming and going. The actual operator of this place was Mr. Jo (67). Mr. Jo began running the pharmacy in December 2013 and was familiarly called ‘pharmacist’ by the neighborhood residents. However, after eight years, in December 2021, Mr. Jo’s pharmacy began to no longer operate properly. What happened?

It turned out that Mr. Jo was an ‘unlicensed pharmacist’ who had never obtained a pharmacist license. Although he had worked at pharmaceutical companies in the past, he never majored in pharmacy. While working at a pharmaceutical company, he gained detailed knowledge of the drug distribution process, but he was not qualified to open a pharmacy. According to the current Pharmacist Act, only licensed pharmacists or oriental medicine pharmacists can open a pharmacy.

The reason Mr. Jo was able to operate the pharmacy was due to the help of actual pharmacists. In December 2013, Mr. Jo borrowed the pharmacist license of Mr. Choi to open the pharmacy. This was a so-called ‘office manager pharmacy.’ However, after Mr. Choi, who lent the license, passed away from a chronic illness within a year, Mr. Jo was in urgent need of another pharmacist’s license.

Fortunately, Mr. Park (80), an acquaintance of Mr. Choi, lent his pharmacist license to Mr. Jo. Mr. Park agreed to receive a monthly salary of 2 million won in exchange for lending his license. Thus, Mr. Jo operated the pharmacy using Mr. Park’s pharmacist license until May 2021. From June 2021, he continued running the pharmacy by borrowing the license of another pharmacist, Mr. Kim (57).

Over the course of eight years running the pharmacy, Mr. Jo earned a staggering 3 billion won. Being elderly and in poor health, and due to credit problems, he selectively approached pharmacists who were unable to open pharmacies themselves and borrowed their licenses. From the pharmacists’ perspective, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement as they could earn 2 million won monthly without working. With the money he earned this way, Mr. Jo lived a luxurious life, residing in a high-end house and purchasing several foreign cars.

However, Mr. Jo’s criminal activities did not last long. The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) discovered suspicious aspects while reviewing the transaction details of Mr. Jo’s pharmacy. The pharmacist license had changed twice, and the transaction details were difficult to consider normal for a pharmacy. Moreover, Mr. Jo refused to submit various documents requested by the NHIS, turning suspicion into certainty. Eventually, the NHIS requested the police to investigate Mr. Jo’s pharmacy.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency conducted a search and seizure of Mr. Jo’s pharmacy on November 10, 2023, and summoned Mr. Jo for questioning three times. The police, having found evidence that Mr. Jo falsely claimed medical benefits, arrested and sent him to prosecution on June 7 of this year on charges of violating the Pharmacist Act and the Act on the Management of Subsidies. The pharmacists who lent their licenses to Mr. Jo, except for the deceased Mr. Choi, were also sent to prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Pharmacist Act. The prosecution has indicted them, and the trial is currently underway.

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