"Non-face-to-face prescriptions regardless of body weight"...Concerns over abuse of Hugo Bee ↑

"Non-face-to-face prescription without weight"...Concerns over abuse of Hugo Bee ↑

Elon Musk's Obesity Treatment 'Wigobi' Is Popular to Launch in Korea

Simple cosmetic purpose prescriptions are prevalent in non-face-to-face treatment apps

Food and Drug Administration Blocks Overseas Direct Purchase of Hugo Bee...Set search forbidden words

[Anchor]
A diet drug called a miracle obesity treatment, WeGobi, has been making a significant impact after its release in Korea.

However, as it can be obtained without any restrictions with a non-face-to-face prescription, concerns over misuse increase, and active management is required.

Reporter Kwon Min-seok's report.

[Reporter]
After Elon Musk's obesity treatment "Wigobi" was released in Korea, a series of notifications were posted that there was a stock in pharmacies on the market.

Interest and demand for the drug's effectiveness of losing more than 10% of weight have also soared.

In particular, there are a line of reviews online that you can easily get a prescription without seeing a doctor in person.

However, in non-face-to-face treatment applications, random prescriptions are prevalent, raising concerns about misuse for simple beauty purposes.

There is no way to check the actual weight non-face-to-face except for the buyer's claim, so only overweight patients with a body mass index of 30 or more are not observed.

There were even a number of sellers who said they could get Hugo fees by purchasing them directly from abroad without a doctor's prescription.

[Baek Hye-ryeon / Democratic member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee: It takes a total of 21 seconds from self-identification to prescription. They don't check themselves properly and don't ask for the basic patient's condition.

For this reason, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety started monitoring by blocking foreign direct purchases into Korea and setting WeGobi as a prohibited online shopping mall search word.

The Korean Society of Obesity also urged that only those who are treated should be prescribed, saying that stomach cancer has a great weight loss effect, but also has side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea, and pancreatitis.

[Heo Yang-Im / Public Relations Director of the Korean Society of Obesity: People with diabetes may have problems with their teeth as symptoms of hypoglycemia or diabetic retinopathy worsen. Also, there can be mood changes, sleep changes, and other emotional changes..]

In order to fill the gap in the group resignation of majors, non-face-to-face treatment allowed by the government is raising concerns over the overflow of diet drugs, so countermeasures need to be prepared.

I'm Kwon Minseok of YTN.