[Anchor]
The illegal importation of obesity treatments such as Mounjaro and Wegovy from overseas has been increasing significantly. Since counterfeit products are also in circulation, careful verification is required.
Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the details.
[Reporter]
When a delivery box shipped via international mail is opened, Mounjaro, an obesity treatment, is revealed.
Another obesity treatment, the pill version of Wegovy, also appears.
Because Mounjaro and Wegovy brought in from abroad are harmful pharmaceuticals designated by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, any imports lacking the required import conditions are subject to customs interception.
However, with prices in foreign countries like Japan being less than half of those in South Korea, the number of seizures detected up to August of this year has already exceeded four times the total number of seizures for the entire last year.
Of the traveler-related seizures, 63% came from Japan, while 94% of the mail-related seizures originated from India.
[Lee Jin-hee, Customs Clearance Bureau Director at the Korea Customs Service: In the case of Japan, you can think of people purchasing them directly by visiting and carrying them in themselves, whereas for India, most cases involve purchasing them via social media and bringing them in through international mail.]
Safety cannot be guaranteed.
This is a Mounjaro product that entered South Korea from India via international mail.
Both the packaging box and the syringe shape looked identical to the original, but an analysis of its components revealed it to be a counterfeit.
There were 9 targeted shipments under investigation, and the content of tirzepatide, the main active ingredient of Mounjaro, varied inconsistently across products, with multiple unidentified impurities also detected.
While Mounjaro must be stored between 2°C and 8°C (36°F and 46°F) to maintain quality, it was confirmed that these counterfeit products underwent no cold-chain transportation process whatsoever.
[Na Dong-hee, Professor at Chung-Ang University College of Pharmacy: This can lead to results that not only degrade the quality of the pharmaceutical but also increase the risk of unexpected adverse reactions.]
The Korea Customs Service announced plans to strengthen X-ray screening for flights arriving from Japan and expand customs clearance inspections tailored to the characteristics of each import channel, including overseas direct purchases.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Lee Mu-jin | Video by Choi Jin-hwa | Graphics by Yang Gi-tae)
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