Different types of prescription drugs illegally sold in the case are laid out on a table in a photo provided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Aug. 12.MINISTRY OF FOOD AND DRUG SAFETY
A pharmaceutical sales representative who allegedly divertedinjectableprescription drugs and sold them online has been referred to prosecutors, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Wednesday.
The ministry said it referred the seller to prosecutors on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act for allegedly selling 2,293 units of about 100 types of prescription injectable drugs, including glutathione injections.
The ministry also asked prosecutors to seek a preindictment preservation order for the 70 million won ($49,000) in alleged criminal proceeds. Under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, only licensed pharmacy operators are permitted to sell medicines.
The seller is accused of selling 160 million won worth of drugs to 156 buyers contacted online. The drugs sold included injections commonly used for cosmetic and health purposes, such as I-della Injection, For B1 Injection, Laennec Injection and Hishiphagen-C Injection, as well as glutathione injections.
Glutathione injections, commonly known in Korea as "white jade injections," are widely promoted as cosmetic treatments that brighten the skin by touting the antioxidant effects of their main ingredient, glutathione.
From April last year through April this year, the seller recruited buyers through online communities focused on women's beauty and nursing. Investigators found that the prescription drugs were sold either through parcel delivery or in-person transactions after payments were made in cash or by bank transfer.
"The seller chose cash transactions to avoid detection by investigators," a ministry official said.
A model gets a beauty treatment in this photo unrelated to the article.CYNOSURE LUTRONIC
The seller worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative commissioned by a drug wholesaler to promote its products. Under the pretense of supplying client hospitals, the seller allegedly ordered more drugs than the hospitals actually needed, delivered only part of the orders and diverted the excess for sale to individual buyers.
Buyers were found to have purchased the prescription drugs online at relatively low prices without prescriptions, using them for purposes including skin whitening and antioxidant effects, as well as to boost alertness and relieve fatigue.
"The main buyers were not ordinary people without medical knowledge, but nurses and people working in the beauty industry," the ministry official said.
Syringes are displayed on the table in this photo unrelated to the article.YONHAP
The illegally distributed prescription drugs were also found to have been used for cosmetic purposes rather than their approved medical indications, including the prevention of neurological disorders and treatment of inner ear hearing loss.
In 2016, the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaboration Agency concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the clinical efficacy and safety of five types of injections, including glutathione injections, that were being used for cosmetic and health purposes.
"Misuse or abuse of medicines can cause serious adverse effects, including cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness and shock caused by breathing difficulties," the ministry said. "They must be used with a doctor's prescription."
BY CHAE HYE-SEON [shin.woojin@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
