The Ministry of Health and Welfare said herbal pharmacists do not break the law when they open a pharmacy and sell over-the-counter drugs within the scope of their license. It also said it was inappropriate for drugmakers and wholesalers to refuse to supply medicines to pharmacies opened by herbal pharmacists. The ministry, however, offered no clear standard for which OTC drugs fall within the scope of a herbal pharmacist's license, leaving room for further conflict.
In a written response on the 15th to a National Assembly audit query from Rep. Cho Bae-sook of the People Power Party on the herbal pharmacist system and OTC drug sales, the ministry said that under the current Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, herbal pharmacists may also open a pharmacy and sell OTC drugs without a prescription, and that both pharmacists and herbal pharmacists may sell such drugs within the scope of their respective licenses. "It is difficult to conclude that OTC drug sales by herbal pharmacists are necessarily illegal," the ministry said.
On the refusal by drugmakers and wholesalers to supply medicines to pharmacies opened by herbal pharmacists, the ministry said that halting or refusing OTC drug supply across the board solely because a pharmacy was opened by a herbal pharmacist does not constitute a "justifiable reason" under the enforcement rules of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
Authority over OTC drug sales is a leading flashpoint in the turf war between pharmacists and herbal pharmacists. The Pharmaceutical Affairs Act allows pharmacy operators — both pharmacists and herbal pharmacists — to sell OTC drugs. But a separate provision on the scope of licenses defines a herbal pharmacist as a person responsible for pharmaceutical work related to herbal medicine and herbal preparations, and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association argues on that basis that OTC drug sales by herbal pharmacists are illegal. The association says a standard must be set for which OTC drugs fall within the scope of a herbal pharmacist's license.
With the turf dispute persisting because of the ambiguity surrounding herbal pharmacists' duties, the ministry has held separate meetings with relevant associations and academic societies to form an official consultative body. The meetings included an advisory session on reforming the herbal pharmacist system on March 27, a meeting with the Korean Association of Pharmacy Education on June 12, a meeting with the Korean Pharmaceutical Association on July 1 and a meeting with the Association of Korean Herbal Pharmacists on July 28. "We will discuss measures to improve the pharmacist system in order to promote public health and establish appropriate roles," the ministry said.