Korea's health ministry weighs managed coverage for obesity drugs

What the minister said

Health and Welfare Minister Jung Eun-kyeong told a National Assembly audit on 27 October 2026 that the ministry would review obesity drugs for its managed benefit scheme. Jung said the ministry would "include obesity drugs in the review framework for the managed benefit scheme". The remark answered a request from Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea. The scheme brings non-reimbursed items at risk of overtreatment into the national health insurance system, letting the government manage prices and treatment standards. It sets the patient co-payment rate at 95%, aiming to curb unnecessary use and limit the burden on insurance finances.

Nothing has been decided yet. The ministry has not said which drugs would be covered, for which patients, or when.

Wegovy held 13.2% of Korea's GLP-1 weight-loss drug market in June, against 86.7% for Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, according to BRP Insight. An official from a pharmaceutical firm told The Korea Herald that reimbursement would give Wegovy "a great advantage in affordability".

The applications already filed

Novo Nordisk Korea has applied to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for reimbursement of Wegovy, according to industry sources cited by The Korea Herald. A Novo Nordisk Korea official said obesity is a chronic disease that requires consistent treatment and that the company plans to improve treatment access. HIRA said it is difficult at this stage to predict whether coverage will be applied. Wegovy has stayed outside the national health insurance system since its Korean launch in October 2024.

Approval is not assured. Wegovy must pass a cost-effectiveness review and an assessment of its impact on national insurance finances.

Eli Lilly's South Korean unit is reportedly seeking reimbursement for Mounjaro in adults with type 2 diabetes, a narrower use than weight management.

Why regulators are looking at prescribing

Nam told the audit that nearly 97% of prescriptions for obesity drugs override alerts from the Drug Utilization Review system. She said 32.8% were issued despite warnings against use in pregnancy. HIRA data submitted to Rep. Suh Young-suk showed 70,018 cases in which GLP-1 obesity drug prescriptions went ahead despite alerts flagging duplicate prescriptions of the same active ingredient between October 2024 and August this year. Cases through August alone reached 38,466, up 23.4% from 31,164 for all of last year.

The system has a blind spot. No alert fires when obesity drugs with different active ingredients are prescribed together.

A patient taking Wegovy who is prescribed Mounjaro at another hospital therefore triggers nothing. How often that happens is unknown. The government has also begun field inspections of the 20 hospitals with the highest volumes of obesity drug prescriptions.

The market the scheme would land on

Sales of prescription obesity drugs not covered by insurance came to 450.2 billion won in Korea in the first quarter, according to the health data company Iqvia. GLP-1 injections took 95.1% of that. Wegovy and Mounjaro were prescribed 2,789,992 times from January through August, against 1,222,574 for all of 2025, according to HIRA data submitted to Rep. Kim Yoon. Combined monthly prescriptions rose from 250,121 in January to 466,272 in July. Wegovy prescriptions fell 18.5% to 60,763 in August from 74,517 in January. Mounjaro's rose 2.3 times to 404,602.

Mounjaro's share of the two drugs' combined prescriptions rose to 86.9% in August from 70.2% in January.

Novo cut Wegovy's wholesale prices by roughly 10 to 44% by dose before Mounjaro's Korean release in August last year. Price has pushed some patients abroad. The Korea Customs Service detected just four cases of illegal imports of obesity drugs last year, but 5,030 cases in the first eight months of this year. Of the items held at customs this year, 63.3% arrived from Japan and 21.8% from China.

Prescriptions thin out at higher doses. In August, Mounjaro's 5mg dose drew 173,340 prescriptions against 38,242 for 7.5mg, a 77.9% fall. The ex-factory price rises to 521,377 won from 369,307 won.

Patients pay the full bill today, and prices differ by clinic. According to the pharmaceutical industry and DoctorNow, a telemedicine platform, the first four weeks of Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Eppe averaged about 180,000 won at 10 hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi, with a range of 165,000 to 200,000 won. At the same hospitals, out-of-pocket costs including consultation fees were 223,000 to 270,000 won for Wegovy 0.25mg and 285,000 to 320,000 won for Mounjaro 2.5mg. Eppe's first four weeks carry a supply price of 129,800 won, according to prices circulating among distributors, less than half the 278,066 won for Mounjaro's starter dose.

What happens next

Nam argued for wider coverage, citing that about 40% of people who underwent national health screenings had a BMI of 25 or higher, and 7.7% had a BMI of 30 or higher. Jung said she would review Nam's request to include the drugs in the scheme even for patients without severe obesity. A pharmaceutical industry official quoted by The Korea Herald said Mounjaro and Eppe would almost certainly apply for the same coverage if Wegovy wins it.