[2026 Audit] 4,096 Treated for Eye Conditions After Obesity Shot Prescriptions; 9,476 for Gallstones, Other Conditions

Rep. Nam Insoon of the Democratic Party of Korea
Analysis of patients prescribed Wegovy and Mounjaro
378 patients also visited emergency rooms

A total of 4,096 patients who were prescribed obesity-treatment injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro later received treatment for eye conditions, including optic neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy. Another 9,476 patients received treatment for conditions such as gallstones, cholecystitis and acute pancreatitis.

According to data submitted by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to Nam Insoon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, on October 14, 104 patients received treatment for nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) after being prescribed Wegovy or Mounjaro. Of these, 67 had been prescribed Wegovy and 37 Mounjaro.

Nam Insoon, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea). Yonhap News.

A total of 3,992 patients received treatment for diabetic retinopathy: 2,460 had been prescribed Wegovy and 1,532 Mounjaro. The data covered the period from October 2024 through August 2026 for Wegovy, and from August 2025 through August 2026 for Mounjaro.

Based on the side-effect symptoms warned about by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a tally of patients who received treatment after their first prescription found that gallstones were the most common condition, affecting 5,973 patients. This was followed by cholecystitis in 1,393 patients, acute pancreatitis in 1,264, acute kidney failure in 511, and hypoglycemia in 335, for a total of 9,476 patients. Of these, 378 patients visited an emergency room: 216 for gallstones, 95 for cholecystitis, 55 for acute pancreatitis, seven for acute kidney failure, and five for hypoglycemia.

The cumulative number of Wegovy users treated for related conditions also increased. The number of patients with gallstones rose 6.1-fold, from 560 through August 2025 to 3,399 through August 2026. Over the same period, the number of patients with cholecystitis rose from 143 to 806, acute pancreatitis from 151 to 695, acute kidney failure from 63 to 304, and hypoglycemia from 44 to 196.

Reports of adverse events submitted to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also increased. From the drugs’ launch through June 2026, a total of 2,705 adverse events related to Wegovy and Mounjaro were reported: 1,444 for Wegovy and 1,261 for Mounjaro. The most commonly reported events were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and indigestion for Wegovy, and injection-site pain, bleeding, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting for Mounjaro.

NAION is a condition in which reduced blood flow to the optic nerve causes a sudden decline or loss of vision. Last year, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended adding NAION to the product information for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, as a “very rare side effect.” The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approved labeling states that using Wegovy in patients with diabetic retinopathy may increase the risk of complications and calls for close monitoring.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.