Seonmin Kim, member of the Party for National Innovation. Photo by Yonhap News

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As public interest in obesity treatments such as "Wegovy" and "Mounjaro" has recently grown, the number of companies caught selling ordinary foods disguised as "edible Wegovy" or "diet pills" is increasing. These products are simply ordinary foods with no weight loss effect, often just beverages or solid teas, and consumers are being warned to exercise caution.

According to materials from the National Assembly audit received from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety by Assemblywoman Seonmin Kim on the 22nd, there were 3,749 cases over the past five years in which ordinary foods were falsely advertised as health functional foods. Naver Shopping accounted for the largest share with 1,067 cases (28%), followed by manipulated reviews on Naver Blogs and Cafes with 861 cases (22%), and Instagram with 716 cases (19%).

The global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's obesity treatment drug "Wegovy" was released domestically last year, and a notice saying "Wegovy in Stock" is posted at a pharmacy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

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Company A sold a solid tea containing chicory, naming the product "Wego○○" to create the impression that it had effects similar to Wegovy. The product sales page advertised features such as "Edible Wego○○," "Official domestic launch," "Available at pharmacies," and "GLP-1 effect," making it appear to be a pharmaceutical product. In reviews, phrases like "Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian lost weight with GLP-based Wegovy" and "Edible Wegovy with no side effects" were used for advertising purposes.

Company B, which advertised processed fruit and vegetable products and solid teas (ordinary foods) as "diet health functional foods," was found to have sold the largest amount among violators, with sales of approximately 25.5 billion won, and was penalized with a 20-day business suspension.

The global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's obesity treatment drug "Wegovy" was launched domestically last year, and a notice saying "Belly Fat Medicine In Stock" was posted at a pharmacy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

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The bigger issue is that there are far more companies engaged in false advertising that have not been caught. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We are taking measures to block detected sites. For products where the seller and manufacturer can be identified, we are also requesting administrative action from local governments." However, they also admitted, "We cannot confirm whether the sites are actually being blocked."

Assemblywoman Kim stressed the need for fundamental measures, saying, "There must be an effective punishment system, such as preemptively blocking products with similar names and banning sales for repeated violations."