[2025 Audit] Wegovy Prescribed to Children and Pregnant Women... "Monitoring Measures Needed"

Kim Namhee: "Prescription Guidelines for Patient Safety Are Useless in Practice"

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyung announced plans to establish a monitoring system to address the misuse and abuse of obesity treatment injections such as Wegovy, which have recently become a source of controversy.

On the 15th, at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's audit, Jeong Eun-kyung, Minister of Health and Welfare, is listening to a question from Kim Nam-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by National Assembly Broadcasting System

At the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's audit on the 15th, Minister Jeong responded to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-hee's concerns about the indiscriminate prescription and misuse of Wegovy, saying, "Since Wegovy is a non-reimbursed drug, there are difficulties in managing it, but we will work with the medical community to find ways to adjust and regulate prescription practices."

According to Assemblywoman Kim, between October last year and August this year, Wegovy was prescribed 69 times to children under the age of 12 and 194 times to pregnant women. Wegovy is a prescription drug that is prohibited for use in people under 18, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and those aged 65 or older.

Assemblywoman Kim stated, "Obesity treatment injections are being prescribed even to children and pregnant women, and even people with a normal body mass index of 20 can receive a prescription in just five minutes, indicating rampant abuse." She added, "The prescription criteria for Wegovy are practically meaningless in the field, and isn't the Ministry of Health and Welfare essentially neglecting the issue?" She further pointed out, "Thousands of prescriptions are being issued at hospitals unrelated to obesity treatment, such as psychiatric, ophthalmology, and dental clinics. Side effects such as acute pancreatitis, gallstones, and hypoglycemia have been reported, and the resulting medical expenses are worsening the finances of the national health insurance system."

In response, Minister Jeong said, "There is a system in which the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety designates drugs with a high risk of misuse for special management. We will cooperate with the Ministry to utilize this system and establish monitoring and management measures."

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