Six incumbent and former executives of the South Korean unit of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis have been indicted on charges of providing illegal kickbacks to doctors, industry sources said Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office charged the six, including the former CEO surnamed Moon, for allegedly providing money or other kickbacks known in the industry as rebates to doctors in exchange for prescribing its products.

A total of 23 people, including six publishers of medical publications and doctors, have also been indicted on charges of engaging in kickback-related deals, such as receiving illegal payments, the sources said.

Moon and other executives allegedly provided doctors with money and other forms of financial support through medical journals, the sources said. 

Novartis Korea, however, rejected the allegations of being aware of such illegal acts, arguing that unfair trade practices were committed by only a small number of executives.

Earlier, the government declared war against the long-running illegal practice in a bid to ease the financial burden of patients and reduce price ballooning. The prosecution has since indicted executives from local pharmaceutical firms and doctors in line with the government's efforts.

Novartis AG produces medicines for such diseases as hypertension, leukemia, dementia, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. (Yonhap)