‘Human Flesh Capsules’ from China Reappear in South Korea

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Recent reports from South Korea media suggest that the smuggling of capsules from China containing human DNA have recently reappeared despite ethical and health concerns.

According to data obtained from the Korea Customs Service (KCS) by representative Kim Young Sun of the South Korean National Assembly on Sept. 28, the KCS reported six incidents of “human flesh capsule” smuggling from 2016 to 2021, with a total of more than 1,000 capsules seized from the belongings of travelers entering South Korea.

“Human flesh capsules,” as local media dubbed them, were found to be made with the remains of deceased human babies and aborted fetuses. These capsules, marketed as a health supplement, have been sold in the black markets of China and South Korea since 2011. Over 60,000 capsules were seized in South Korea between 2011 and 2013, according to the KCS.

In 2011, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), one of the three biggest South Korean television broadcasters, made a documentary after secretly filming the capsule production process in a small city in China.

According to the documentary, the black market vendors collaborate with local hospitals to obtain frozen fetuses, and these dead infant bodies are then dried and shipped to a factory for use in the capsules.

Analysis conducted by South Korea’s National Forensic Service (NFS) in 2011, confirmed that the powdered filling in the capsules contained human genetic sequences that allowed scientists to discern the sexes of the fetuses.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Lee Seung Won, president of the Korea Association for Ethical Organ Transplants, said he believes that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a key reason for the moral deterioration of the Chinese people.

“The fact that the CCP is harvesting and selling organs from prisoners of conscience, allowing ‘human flesh capsules’ to be made in China and smuggled into South Korea, allowing South Koreans to travel to China for organ transplantations, and deteriorating the basic human ethics of the Chinese people under its rule, shows that the CCP holds no restrictions on itself in terms of treating the human body and organs illegally.

“The public in South Korea should continue and sustain discussions on the issue to stop the manufacturing of human flesh and forced organ harvesting in China,” he said.

In addition to the ethical concerns of the franken capsules, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) also found that the capsules pose serious health hazards to users.

Investigations by the MFDS found that one single capsule contained 18.7 billion bacteria as well as the hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Following the recent reappearance of these capsules, representative Kim urged the KCS to tighten its control of the goods entering South Korea.

“For the safety of South Koreans, all inappropriate items should be blocked from entering South Korea during the customs clearance process,” she said.