Abstract
Alcohol drinking is popular in the Republic of Korea (Korea). Psychiatric epidemiologic surveys conducted in Korea revealed that while prevalence rates of most psychiatric disorders were significantly lower compared to those found in the US, the alcohol dependence rate was substantially higher in Korea than in both Western and other Asian countries. Moreover, the rates of alcohol drinking in men and women have been increasing in Korea during the last several decades, especially among women. Excessive alcohol consumption causes more than 4,500 deaths annually in Korea, and the alcohol-induced death rate was 9.1 per 100,000 individuals in 2010. Currently, there are three medications approved by The Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to treat alcohol dependence in Korea: Disulfiram (an acetaldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor), oral naltrexone (an opioid antagonist) and acamprosate (an Nmethyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA) modulator). However, Disulfiram has not been produced nor merchandised in Korea. Chlordiazepoxide has been approved by MFDS to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The MFDS does not yet approve the use of long-acting injectable naltrexone and nalmefene.
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