'Lead-flushing injections' disguised as vitamins: 73% distributed through local clinics

Chelation injections suspected of being administered at an automotive battery manufacturing facility to conceal workers' blood lead levels have been found heavily concentrated in neighborhood clinics in recent years.

The office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeon Jin-suk, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, obtained chelation injection supply records from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's Drug Management Information Center. An analysis of those records found that 531,230 units worth 6.29 billion won ($4.75 million) were supplied to medical institutions nationwide between January 2023 and August 2026.

Of that total, 389,470 units — 73.3 percent — went to neighborhood clinics. Those supplies accounted for 4.62 billion won, or 73.4 percent of the total supply value.

Over the same period, tertiary hospitals, which primarily treat acute poisoning cases, received just 3,290 units (35 million won), while general hospitals received 40,180 units (437 million won) and mid-tier hospitals received 98,290 units (1.2 billion won). In effect, more than 70 percent of a drug intended for severe-patient treatment ended up at primary care facilities.

Chelation injections containing calcium disodium edetate are detoxification agents that force heavy metals such as lead out of the bloodstream through urine. The process also strips the body of essential minerals including calcium, potassium and magnesium, and can cause serious side effects such as kidney damage, cardiovascular toxicity and electrolyte imbalances.

That is why the WHO recommends the drug only in cases of severe poisoning — where blood lead concentrations exceed at least 70 micrograms — and why the US Occupational Safety and Health Act strictly prohibits its preventive use.

In South Korea, however, no prescription restrictions or clear dosage standards are in place. As a result, clinics and hospitals have repackaged the drug as a nutritional injection to flush waste and relieve chronic fatigue, dispensing it through long-term prescription programs.

Workers at DN Automotive's Ulsan factory have testified that the company coordinated with a hospital to administer the injections — telling workers they were vitamin shots — ahead of special health screenings.

Workers received the injections on set dates with no prior choice in the matter, and those whose levels did not drop were given additional doses. About 200 workers at the site have been identified as victims, reporting side effects including sudden spikes in blood pressure, vision abnormalities, frequent urination, hand numbness, facial paralysis, kidney disease and blood in the urine.

The government and investigative authorities have since launched probes. The Ministry of Employment and Labor, through a detailed inspection of the Ulsan factory, identified 68 violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, imposed fines totaling 46.2 million won and ordered a halt to processes where lead levels were detected at more than five times the permissible limit. The ministry also referred the company and the medical institution involved to police on charges of obstructing health examinations.

The government plans to expand its investigation to 14 other battery manufacturing workplaces of the same type and pursue legislative amendments and regulatory reforms to prevent the manipulation of test results. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will conduct a fact-finding survey to ban off-label use of the drug and issue administrative guidance to clinics and hospitals found to have engaged in false or exaggerated advertising.