On December 16th, SM Entertainment’s BoA was questioned for violating import drug regulations due to the company’s overseas branch employee’s carelessness in customs clearance procedures.
According to SpoTVNews on the 17th, an employee of SM’s overseas branch sent sleeping pills that BoA had been taking during her activities in Japan. Unaware of proper import regulations and procedures, the staff and BoA were both investigated by prosecutors for violating the customs clearance regulations for imported medicines.
SM Entertainment explained that after a recent medical examination, BoA followed the doctor’s recommendation for sufficient sleep, as her growth hormones were low. However, she experienced severe side effects from the prescribed sleeping pills. Reminded of the sleeping pills that BoA took during her activities in Japan, the employee followed regular procedures to receive medication from the local hospital without realizing that it could be a problem in Korea.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s regulations on the safety of medicines, to handle and import medicines, the authorization of a government institution is needed. Those who are authorized also have to report and gain prior permission; however, SM’s overseas branch employee was not aware of such process. They sent the medicine only with the ingredient table attached, after being told so by the local post office.
SM reported that they plan to better educate employees to prevent this from happening again, as they apologized for the trouble.
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