Two types of children’s Tylenol no longer sold in Korea’s convenience stores

80mg and 160mg of Tylenol tablets for children are out of stock at convenience stores. Only 500mg of Tylenol tablets are displayed in the medicine section at a CU convenience store in Yeouido, Seoul on July 10. [Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

South Korean consumers are no longer able to obtain two types of children’s Tylenol, which had been available for purchase at convenience stores instead of pharmacies. The production of these two medicines, designated as over-the-counter drugs for emergencies, has been discontinued for over a year, largely due to the South Korean government’s apparent neglect after the drug’s manufacturer determined offshoring.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare belatedly responded by saying that “additional discussions are needed to designate alternative medicines to replace the two drugs.”

According to industry sources last Friday, it is currently difficult to find children’s Tylenol tablets, 80mg and 160mg, at over 43,000 nationwide convenience stores designated as safe emergency medicine retailers. Convenience stores are the main sales channel for OTC emergency medicines in South Korea, with the largest number of outlets being CU, with 16,700 stores. However, the supply of these two products has been discontinued since September of last year.

Since 2012, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has designated a total of 13 pharmaceutical items, including five types of fever and pain relievers, two types of cold medicine, four types of digestive aids, and two types of patches, as OTC emergency medicines to alleviate public inconvenience and increase accessibility for consumers outside of pharmacies.

However, the discontinuation of Tylenol supply had been anticipated when its manufacturer Janssen Korea sold its domestic factory in 2020 and moved the supply of Tylenol overseas. While Janssen Korea immediately responded to the situation by importing Tylenol tablets with a dose of 500mg and children’s Tylenol suspension, the supply of children’s Tylenol tablets with doses of 80mg and 160mg has been disrupted for over a year and four months since March 2022.

Despite this, the Korean government has remained passive, without designating alternative products or formulating countermeasures.

“When the manufacturing facility changes, a new permit must be obtained, but it seems that reauthorization was not obtained for these two products,” said a ministry official. “Additional discussions are needed regarding the designation of alternative products. It is not necessary for the replacement to be the exact same formulation. We are reconsidering the concept of over-the-counter emergency medicines from scratch, considering changes in the situation such as the introduction of legislation for overnight pharmacies.”

Civic groups criticized the government, saying that “The government has neglected the issue for over a year and only recently started to address the problem. They have failed to properly manage even the 13 designated emergency medicine items, let alone expand the list.”