The South Korean government has joined forces with medical and pharmaceutical associations to prevent supply disruptions of medical products amid the prolonged conflict in the Middle East. Authorities plan to operate a cross-ministry daily monitoring system and take stern action against hoarding, price-fixing and other practices that disrupt distribution.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it held a "Medical Product Supply Stability Cooperation Declaration Ceremony" on Tuesday at Conference House Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul, together with 12 health and pharmaceutical associations and related government agencies. The meeting was organized as a preemptive measure amid growing concerns over supply chain instability for pharmaceuticals and medical devices caused by the Middle East conflict.
The Korean Medical Association, the Korean Hospital Association, the Korean Pharmaceutical Association and nine other organizations participated in the meeting, along with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). Through a joint declaration, the government and the associations agreed to cooperate on supporting raw material supply and resolving distribution bottlenecks, establishing supply-response systems within each organization, preventing market disruption and eliminating excessive purchasing and waste.
The government decided to proactively identify and closely manage essential medical products at risk of supply disruption. It currently operates a dual monitoring system divided into production and demand stages.
MOTIE and the MFDS inspect raw material supply and production conditions, while the Ministry of Health and Welfare checks supply conditions at medical institutions and pharmacies on a daily basis. Through this system, the government is intensively managing supply of six key items including IV sets, syringes and eye-drop packaging materials. Non-pharmaceutical items such as sterilized packaging and medicine wrapping paper that have a significant impact on the medical field have also been added to the monitoring list.
If supply disruptions are detected, the government plans to immediately pursue tailored responses including raw material support, distribution network inspections, regulatory improvements and reimbursement rate adjustments. In particular, for therapeutic materials, authorities are reviewing raising health insurance reimbursement rates to reflect the burden of rising exchange rates.
Enforcement against distribution order violations will also be strengthened. A reporting center will be established at HIRA to monitor hoarding and cornering, and each association will form its own response team to conduct on-site inspections. The government will immediately initiate administrative action if violations such as price collusion or supply withholding are confirmed.
"The supply of medical products is a matter directly linked to the lives of our citizens," Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said. "We will closely monitor the situation and respond swiftly to ensure no supply disruptions occur in the medical field."