South Korean authorities have caught convenience stores and other retailers selling more than one package of over-the-counter medicine at a time and failing to meet a requirement to stay open around the clock. The government said it would step up on-site inspections of violations that could lead to drug misuse.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 6th that it had taken disciplinary action over 480 violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act found at retailers approved to sell designated over-the-counter medicines between 2021 and July this year.
About 40,000 outlets nationwide are currently registered to sell the medicines. The ministry and local governments conducted 80,298 inspections over the past six years, with violations found in about 1.2% of them.
The most common breach was failure to report a temporary or permanent closure, which accounted for 365 cases, or 76% of the total. Registered sellers must operate 24 hours a day, and 36 cases, or 7.5%, involved outlets that did not. Those businesses had their registrations revoked or faced other penalties.
Selling more than one package unit at a time accounted for 32 cases, or 6.7%. Sellers of designated over-the-counter medicines must cap each sale at a single package unit so that consumers cannot buy multiple units of the same product at once. Violators are subject to fines.
The ministry is paying particular attention to the recent increase in breaches of the per-sale limit. There was only one such case in 2021 and none from 2022 to 2024, but the figure jumped to 27 last year. Four more were identified in the first seven months of this year.
The ministry said it would make on-site oversight more effective by focusing on violations that could lead to drug misuse. It also plans to work with local governments to continue strengthening guidance and inspections of the retailers.
"Because these are medicines that the public buys easily in daily life, it is important that basic safety standards are thoroughly observed at the point of sale," said Kwak Soon-heon, director general for health policy at the ministry. "We will work with local governments to keep strengthening guidance and inspections, and maintain an environment where the public can buy these medicines with confidence."
