"Police Investigate 10 Companies for Syringe Hoarding and Cornering"

Ten More Companies Investigated in Addition to Four Reported by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
Violations Include Preferential Sales and Excess Inventory Storage

The police have launched an investigation into companies caught engaging in hoarding and cornering of syringe supplies. These businesses are accused of violating relevant public notices by either concentrating syringe sales to a single client or storing inventory in excess of the allowed limits.

According to the National Police Agency, on May 7, it was announced that investigations have begun into 10 syringe suppliers reported by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on charges of hoarding. Including four companies previously reported by the Ministry, a total of 14 companies are now under investigation.

Employees of the Buk-gu Public Health Center in Buk-gu, Gwangju, are checking the inventory of syringes at a syringe sales business. Photo by Yonhap News

The National Police Agency has assigned the cases to anti-corruption and economic crime investigation units at each regional police agency: three cases to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, two to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, two to Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, one each to Busan, Gwangju, and Chungbuk Provincial Police Agencies, instructing them to conduct prompt investigations.

According to the police, eight out of the 10 companies are suspected of violating related notices by storing more than 150% of their previous year’s average monthly sales for more than five days. The remaining two companies are accused of violating the regulation prohibiting sales to a single client in an amount exceeding the average monthly sales over a three-month period from December of the previous year to February of this year.

The police plan to take strong action by requesting pre-indictment preservation of assets equivalent to the value of goods hoarded by the companies in question, to prevent illegal profits from being realized. Under the Price Stabilization Act, goods related to the crime may be confiscated, or their value seized if confiscation is not possible. In addition, those found guilty of hoarding and cornering in violation of the relevant regulations may face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won.

A police official stated, “We will respond strictly to illegal activities that disrupt the circulation and supply order of medical supplies.”

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