Illegal Medication
CHA Medical Group Chairman Cha Kwang-yul’s family was caught for being injected with immune cell treatments which were illegally produced.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced on December 29 that it found out that Chairman Cha Kwang-yul and his wife and daughter were medicated cell treatments that were illegally produced by CHA Biotech, a subsidiary of CHA Medical Group Group.
According to the investigation by the MFDS, CHA Biotech took blood samples from Cha’s family members and isolated and grew cells from the blood samples. Then, it manufactured cell treatments without a license 19 times from February last year to October this year and supplied them to Bundang CHA Hospital. Bundang CHA Hospital dosed Cha’s family members with cell treatments provided by CHA Biotech.
Under the current pharmaceutical laws, a medicine manufacture is required to receive a license for product manufacture and sale by item or report product manufacture and sale. If it violates the law, it can face up to 5 years in prison and a fine up to 50 million won (US$41,322).
An official from the MFDS said, “We reported biomedicine developer CHA Biotech CEO surnamed Choi to the prosecution for violating the pharmaceutical laws and Bundang CHA Hospital, which injected with unlicensed drugs, to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for violating the medical laws.” Previously, Cha’s family members stirred up controversy as they illegally injected with cord blood that were donated by pregnant women for research purposes.