Food and drug safety ministry seeks blocks on 432 illegal online medicine posts

The food and drug safety ministry said it had requested access blocks for 432 online posts selling or advertising medicines illegally, after joint monitoring with three private groups uncovered violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.

The total included 222 cases found through routine monitoring during the first half and 210 from a focused inspection held between July 27 and Aug. 7. The inspection targeted the summer vacation season and medicines subject to frequent online purchase attempts. The joint monitoring is part of the Clean-On project, launched in January, under which the three groups report illegal sale or advertising posts to the ministry. The ministry reviews whether the posts violate the law before asking relevant agencies to block access.

General shopping malls accounted for 82.4 percent of the cases and included sites selling Japanese medicines and other products from overseas. Digestive medicines made up 49.0 percent of flagged items, followed by eye drops at 34.8 percent.

The ministry warned that medicines purchased online may be counterfeit, deteriorated or contaminated, and consumers who suffer adverse effects may not be eligible for redress. It urged consumers to obtain medicines through hospitals and pharmacies, follow doctors' prescriptions and pharmacists' dispensing guidance, and avoid taking drugs on their own because of misuse and abuse.