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Gov't eyes oversight measures to prevent Wegovy misuse

Published: 16 Oct. 2025, 08:51

Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong answers questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly’s audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in western Seoul on Oct. 15. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said Wednesday that the government will establish new oversight measures to prevent excessive prescriptions and misuse of Wegovy, an injectable obesity treatment.

"We will be discussing ways with medical professionals to improve prescription practices and will work with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to create a monitoring and enforcement system for the drug," Jeong said at the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee audit.

Jung also expressed concern over the growing “warehouse-style pharmacy” trend that has drawn criticism in recent weeks.

A “warehouse-style pharmacy” refers to a large retail pharmacy that sells over-the-counter drugs and health products in bulk at discounted prices, similar to warehouse stores like Costco. The model has drawn criticism in Korea for treating medicines like consumer goods and potentially disrupting the country’s regulated pharmaceutical distribution system.

Jeong said the ministry will closely study how such large-scale pharmacies affect the overall pharmaceutical market and develop appropriate policy responses.

“In the short term, we are revising enforcement regulations to ban misleading advertisements such as ‘supermarket discount sales,’” she said. "We will prepare measures that consider both fair distribution and accessibility of medicines."

Jeong addressed rising youth suicide rates, describing the issue as “a serious social problem” and stressing the importance of psychological autopsies to understand underlying causes.

“We plan to develop a psychological autopsy program for young people in cooperation with the Ministry of Education,” she said. "We will seek budget support from the Ministry of Finance and reflect the funding in the National Assembly’s review process."

The minister also reaffirmed her commitment to improving Korea’s welfare system to better reach vulnerable groups.

Responding to a question from Democratic Party Rep. Park Hee-seong, Jeong said the ministry is preparing institutional reforms, including legal changes, to make welfare programs more accessible and less dependent on individual applications.

"We will abolish the family support requirement for medical aid and simplify the dependent verification process to the level applied for basic living allowance,” she said. “We are reviewing a plan to phase out the family support obligation system, starting with vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities who have limited ability to work.”

Addressing job instability among physician assistants following the return of medical residents, she said, “We are currently preparing to enact regulations on clinical support duties and will establish guidelines to ensure employment stability.”

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.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]