[Exclusive] Korea Customs Service, which said it had "no statistics," confirms 331 customs holds and returns involving abortion medication

279 Cases Brought in via International Mail...84.3% of Total
A Case Also Involved Suspected Drugs Hidden in a Dietary Supplement Container
Kim Namjun: "Customs Holds Must Be Managed Systematically"

The Korea Customs Service confirmed during a parliamentary audit that there had been 331 cases over the past five years involving abortion medication brought into the country from abroad, despite previously saying it did not keep separate statistics on such cases. International mail accounted for 84% of the total.

According to data submitted by the Korea Customs Service to Kim Namjun, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Planning Committee, there were 331 cases involving abortion medication that was held at customs or returned between 2022 and August 2026. The Korea Customs Service had said during the parliamentary audit that it did not separately track such medication, but later said it had extracted the records from customs holds and returns using related search terms.

Kim Namjun, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap News Agency.

By year, there were 30 cases in 2022, 122 in 2023, 61 in 2024, 89 in 2025, and 29 through August 2026. The number in 2023 was more than four times that of the previous year. By route, international mail accounted for the largest share, with 279 cases (84.3%), followed by 43 cases involving express cargo and nine involving travelers’ personal belongings. In 2024, authorities also uncovered a case in which someone tried to smuggle in about five pills suspected to be abortion medication, concealed in a container of dietary supplements shipped from China. After the parliamentary audit, the Korea Customs Service used related search terms to extract additional records of customs holds and returns and submitted them to the lawmaker’s office.

“If counterfeit abortion drugs whose ingredients and safety have not been verified are brought into the country indiscriminately through overseas online purchases and other channels, they could pose a serious threat to the health and lives of the public,” Kim said. “The Korea Customs Service should establish consistent guidelines and supplementary measures to ensure the ongoing, systematic tracking of customs holds involving key medicines.”

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