[Anchor]
As more people seek out obesity treatment injections, large quantities are now being supplied even to pediatric and adolescent clinics. The problem, however, is that some pediatric clinics are prescribing them without proper medical examinations, raising concerns over abuse and misuse.
Reporter Park Ha-jeong has more.
[Reporter]
A pediatric and adolescent clinic in Gyeonggi Province.
[(What brings you in?) I am here for a consultation about Mounjaro.]
Guidance begins simultaneously with measuring height and weight.
[Person A / Hospital Staff: The wait is long, so if you do not really need a consultation with the doctor and just want to take it, you can take it.]
The refrigerator is packed with injection vials.
Contradicting the notice that says "a doctor administers the first injection," staff explain that it is not necessary.
[Person A / Hospital Staff: If you want, you can get it shot here before you leave, or you can just learn how and do it yourself at home.]
It was not a doctor who taught how to administer the injection.
[Person B / Hospital Staff: Press hard with your hand, and in a little while it goes 'click.' That means it is finished. Read this and try it.]
Without even meeting a doctor, a full box containing four Mounjaro injection pens, equivalent to a one-month supply, is handed over.
As a prescription drug, Mounjaro can induce vomiting, abdominal pain, and in severe cases, pancreatitis, making a doctor's examination and prescription mandatory.
From January to July of this year, a total of approximately 7.22 million Mounjaro units were supplied to clinics nationwide, among which about 367,000 units were supplied to pediatric and adolescent clinics.
In South Korea, Mounjaro has only been approved for individuals aged 18 and older, as safety and efficacy have not been established for those under 18.
While it is not exclusively minors who receive care at pediatric and adolescent clinics, and minors can also visit departments like internal medicine, this raises questions about whether safety safeguards for those under 18 are functioning properly.
Mounjaro is only permitted to be administered at hospitals when a doctor gives the first injection for the purpose of teaching injection methods, but even this rule is being ignored.
[Seo Mi-hwa / National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee Member (Democratic Party of Korea): Bitter criticisms continue that it has degraded into a moneymaking scheme rather than medical treatment. Periodic monitoring of abnormal figures regarding the single-prescription volume or prescription period at specific medical institutions is necessary, among other measures.]
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is pushing to designate Mounjaro as a drug prone to abuse and misuse.
However, because this merely amounts to printing cautionary notices on packaging, critics point out that more proactive measures are required.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Kim Yong-woo | Video by Jeong Yong-hwa | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun
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