Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Cracks Down on 34 Syringe Hoarding Companies Amid Supply Instability

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The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on May 6 that it had conducted a special inspection targeting syringe distributors from April 27 to 30, and discovered 34 companies (57 cases) that violated the notice prohibiting hoarding and cornering of syringes.

Among the violations, there were 8 cases where syringes were stored for more than 5 days in quantities exceeding 150% of the average monthly sales volume; 12 cases where sales exceeded 110% of the average monthly sales volume; 31 cases of excessive supply to the same purchaser; and 6 cases where companies failed to report data such as sales volumes.

In the case of Company A, authorities found that over 120,000 syringes, exceeding the storage standard (150%), were kept in the company warehouse for a week. Company B, despite having already been caught by authorities in a previous inspection, was caught again for selling up to 35 times the permitted amount to a specific purchaser. Company C sold quantities up to 78 times the average monthly sales volume to a single purchaser. Company D violated all four criteria: storing syringes in amounts about 38 times the storage standard, selling about 31 times the sales standard, excessively supplying a single purchaser by about 7 times, and failing to submit required data.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in cooperation with related agencies, is confiscating items related to these offenses under the "Price Stabilization Act," and if confiscation is not possible, collecting the equivalent monetary value. As concerns about syringe supply instability have grown due to the aftermath of the Middle East conflict, authorities have been monitoring the supply situation and cracking down on hoarding and cornering practices.

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