Health · Healthcare & Policy · 6 hrs ago
South Korea reopens probe into online contact lens pickup service
In South Korea, customers can use an app to reserve colored contact lenses and collect them at an optical shop.
The service is disputed because contact lenses are medical devices that touch the eye, and South Korean law bans their sale through online commerce and mail order.
The key legal question is whether online pickup counts as a prohibited sale or only as a booking for an in-person purchase.
Prosecutors previously declined to pursue some complaints, but the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has now ordered a renewed investigation after the opticians’ association appealed.
The association says in-person eye checks and guidance are needed to protect users, while supporters say online reservations help shoppers find products and small shops manage stock.
The dispute has cut the number of participating shops from about 1,500 to roughly one-third of that, limiting consumer choice.
Experts are calling for clear rules that protect eye health while allowing digital services, but no resolution is stated.
South Korea’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has ordered a renewed investigation into an online service for reserving contact lenses for in-store pickup.
The dispute centers on whether the service is prohibited online sales or merely a way to book a visit to an optical shop.
The Korean Optometric Association argues that in-person checks and guidance are needed to protect eye health.
Supporters say online reservations make it easier for customers to find products and help smaller optical shops manage stock.
The legal dispute has reduced the number of participating shops and left the service’s status uncertain.
- Who
- The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office ordered the renewed investigation; the dispute involves Wink Company and the Korean Optometric Association.
- What
- The investigation concerns an online contact lens reservation and in-store pickup service.
- When
- The renewed investigation was ordered recently; the article was published on October 16, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- The dispute is over whether online reservations for in-store pickup count as prohibited online sales or simply arrange a store visit.
Korean Optometric Association
Supporters of online pickup services
Eye health
Korean Optometric Association
The association says contact lenses require professional, in-person checks and guidance, and that online reservations could reduce these to a formality.
Supporters of online pickup services
Supporters say customers still visit an optical shop, where an optician completes the sale and can check their eyes.
Legal status
Korean Optometric Association
The association has challenged the services, arguing they may fall under the ban on online contact lens sales.
Supporters of online pickup services
Supporters regard the service as a way to reserve a product and visit a shop, not as an online sale.
Effects on shops and customers
Korean Optometric Association
The association warns that shops could become mere pickup points and that responsibility for adverse effects could fall on opticians.
Supporters of online pickup services
Supporters say reservations help customers check product availability and allow smaller shops to reduce inventory burdens.
Star Vision, which operates O-Lens, and the Korean Optometric Association began filing complaints against Wink Company and others.
Prosecutors declined to indict, citing factors including that the final sale and payment took place at an optical shop.
The Korean Optometric Association appealed, and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office ordered a renewed investigation.
The number of participating optical shops fell from about 1,500 to roughly one-third of that level.
- Renewed investigation
- Ordered by South Korea’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office
- Service
- Online contact lens reservation with in-store pickup
- Relevant law
- Article 12(5) of the Act on Medical Technicians, etc., bans e-commerce and mail-order sales of eyeglasses and contact lenses
- Complaints
- Filed from 2022 by Star Vision and the Korean Optometric Association
- Participating shops
- Fell from about 1,500 to roughly one-third of that number