Illegal imports of obesity drugs surge 3.5-fold in Korea

The Korea Customs Service reported a significant surge in illegal imports of obesity treatment drugs in Korea, with 4,155 instances detected in the first half of this year, nearly 3.5 times the 1,189 cases reported for all of last year. The primary drugs involved are Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, both of which are once-weekly injectable treatments designed to suppress appetite.

These drugs were first introduced to the Korean market in 2024 and 2025, respectively, and the illegal import cases have escalated rapidly since their domestic releases. International mail is the most common method used for these illicit imports, comprising 84.8 percent of the cases. While customs officials cleared 596 cases through import companies over the same period, the number has risen to 191 in 2025 and 391 in the first half of this year.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.