Pharmacists urge crackdown on illegal practices by Korean traditional herbal pharmacists

The Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) urged the government to crack down on illegal practices by traditional herbal pharmacists, warning that failure to act could force the group to push for abolishing the system.

Kwon Young-hee, president of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, made these remarks during a recent meeting with journalists from media outlets covering the Ministry of Health and Welfare, vowing to resolve the issue of herbal pharmacists.

The herbal pharmacist system emerged as a result of the herbal medicine crisis of 1966. In 1993, the Supreme Court ruled that “the right to prepare herbal medicine lies with pharmacists,” sparking vehement backlash from the oriental medicine community. This led to a prolonged period of chaos, with oriental medicine practitioners and herbal pharmacists engaging in collective work stoppages and protests.

To resolve the issue, the government formed the Herbal Medicine Dispute Mediation Committee, but it was unable to find a solution. Ultimately, in 1997, a stopgap measure was introduced in the form of a separate license for herbal pharmacists, who would handle only herbal medicine, to settle the situation.

However, the (Western) pharmaceutical community persistently raised concerns, arguing that herbal pharmacists were handling general drugs contrary to the system's intent. Recently, they strongly urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare to address the issue of herbal pharmacists employing licensed pharmacists to operate dispensing pharmacies, including even mega-pharmacies, that dispense drugs without pharmacists present.

“(The government) has not imposed administrative sanctions on herbal pharmacists' illegal practices since 2011. The Ministry of Health and Welfare cites legislative gaps as an excuse, but these are merely pretexts; they simply lack the will to penalize illegal actions by herbal pharmacists. This is the government blatantly neglecting clear illegal activities,” Kwon pointed out.

She added, “Because the penalty provisions (for illegal actions by herbal pharmacists) are unclear, the police consult the Ministry of Health and Welfare when the Korean Pharmaceutical Association reports illegal actions by herbal pharmacists. However, the Ministry gives ambiguous responses. This pattern repeats, leading to non-prosecution decisions even when illegal actions are reported.”

The pharmacist group head emphasized that the recent illegal practices of herbal pharmacists have crossed a line, and the association would take more proactive steps to resolve the issue.

“Pharmacists can no longer tolerate the illegal practices of herbal pharmacists. Back in 2014, the Ministry of Health and Welfare even commissioned a study promising to form a task force to solve the problem, but ultimately did nothing,” Kwon said. “The ministry can't even manage the system it created. If these officials can't abolish the herbal pharmacist system, then they must implement the separation of herbal medicine and Western medicine.”

Kwon noted that, based on wholesalers’ data, the association identified 217 herbal **pharmacist-**operated pharmacies that handle prescription drugs. Only 61 of these received administrative penalties. She emphasized that any pharmacy that handled prescription drugs even once should face penalties, adding that this approach sends the signal that “handling prescription drugs once or twice is acceptable.”

“The government must correct these issues. If illegal acts occur, impose administrative penalties. If they appeal and file administrative lawsuits, fight and win. Otherwise, how can pharmacists trust the government and practice their licensed profession?” Kwon asked.

In conclusion, Kwon warned, “We've made significant efforts to resolve the herbal pharmacist issue until now, but this time we're proceeding with the determination to see it through to the very end. There will be no stopping. Don't think it will end with just a brief meeting and a single discussion session.”

She continued, “There is no other solution than to either restrict herbal pharmacists to handling only herbal and oriental medicine preparations, as originally intended by the system, or abolish the system altogether if that is not feasible. We are preparing to strongly raise the issue of the Ministry of Health and Welfare neglecting problems like herbal pharmacists opening pharmacies at the entrance of clinics during the upcoming parliamentary audit.”