Will pharma be able to request 'records of administrative sanctions' during acquisition?

Representative Park Hyeong-soo of the People Power Party proposed a partial amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act…"To pre-ban cases where the goal is to evade administrative sanctions"

Granting the assignee (pharmaceutical company) to request records of administrative sanctions from MFDS, MOHW, and local government heads

A bill is being developed to grant pharmaceutical manufacturers that intend to acquire an existing pharmaceutical company the authority to request and receive records of administrative sanctions imposed on the previous owner (the former operator) by administrative authorities.

This legislation aims to address the issue that the current law lacks a legal basis for an assignee to verify the assignor's history of administrative sanctions.

Once the bill is passed, cases in which an assignee suffers unfair losses, such as managerial damage, by acquiring a pharmaceutical company without knowledge of existing administrative sanctions are expected to disappear.

On February 27, 2026, Representative Park Hyeong-soo of the People Power Party proposed a partial amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act containing these details.

Under the current law, when a new operator succeeds to the status of a former operator through business transfer, inheritance, or merger between corporations, the effects of administrative sanctions on the former operator are transferred to the assignee, except for cases of good faith acquisition.

In other words, if a pharmaceutical company with finalized administrative sanctions is purchased, the responsibility and effects of those sanctions are transferred to the assignee rather than the assignor.

Rep. Park raised concerns that if a pharmaceutical company is acquired without knowledge of any administrative sanction history, the assignee is forced to fulfill the existing sanctions, which can sometimes lead to a situation worse than not having acquired the company at all.

Accordingly, Rep. Park introduced a bill that allows a person seeking to succeed to a pharmaceutical manufacturing business (a person intending to acquire a pharmaceutical company) to request the history of past administrative sanctions and details of administrative sanctions currently in progress from the Minister of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the Minister of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), provincial governors, or heads of local governments (mayors, governors, or district heads).

Rep. Park explained, "This bill allows assignees to check the records of administrative sanctions against the previous operator in advance, enabling them to make more rational decisions regarding the acquisition," adding, "The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has also recommended establishing procedures to verify administrative sanctions, as cases of attempting to transfer businesses to evade administrative sanctions have become frequent."