Public Outrage Over Strike... "Medical Law Amendment Fails to Revoke Licenses Even for Crimes"

On the 14th, when the Korea Medical Association began a nationwide collective strike centered on local clinics, a dermatology clinic in downtown Seoul posted a notice of closure. The Korea Medical Association announced a general strike on this day in protest against the government's expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] As the doctors' strike prolongs and the medical vacuum deepens, the 'angry public sentiment' has finally demanded an amendment to the Medical Service Act. The current Medical Service Act is criticized for guaranteeing doctors' rights to the maximum extent while requiring only weak accountability. The fact that the medical community is conducting a total strike even in emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic is attributed to the current Medical Service Act, which guarantees the 'iron rice bowl' of medical licenses.

According to the Blue House's public petition board on the 1st, a petition titled "We petition to amend the 2000 medical malpractice law that turned the doctor group into monsters" had gained the support of about 59,000 people as of 9 a.m. that day. It was posted just one day ago. The Medical Service Act pointed out in this petition is the amendment bill originally proposed by Kim Chan-woo, a doctor-turned-lawmaker from the Grand National Party and then chairman of the Health and Welfare Committee in 2000. Before 2000, if a doctor was sentenced to imprisonment or higher for professional negligence causing injury or death, their medical license could be suspended, but after the amendment, license cancellation became possible only if the doctor violated the Medical Service Act or related health care laws.

Doctors cannot have their licenses revoked by health authorities even if they are criminally punished for murder, sexual assault, or professional negligence causing death. Compared to other professionals such as lawyers or certified public accountants, whose qualifications are revoked if they receive imprisonment or higher for general criminal offenses, the cancellation criteria for doctors are limited.

Because of this, it is frequent that medical practitioners who have caused medical accidents continue their medical practice openly. Moreover, even if a license is canceled for reasons specified in the Medical Service Act such as issuing false medical certificates, rebates, or leaking professional secrets, there are no restrictions on reissuance. From 2014 to last year, 97.4% of doctors who applied for license reissuance recovered their licenses.

Nam In-soon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The problem is that doctors cannot be regulated regarding their licenses regardless of the crimes they commit," adding, "For the lives and safety of the public including the medical community, it is time to discuss medical license regulation and disclosure of disciplinary information so that the professional ethics of medical personnel, who are representative professionals in our society, can be properly established."

However, as the government filed complaints against 10 doctors who did not comply with the work commencement order, intensifying conflicts with the medical community, it is uncertain whether such an amendment to the Medical Service Act will be promoted in the short term. The amendment itself could act as another trigger. Nevertheless, given that public sentiment toward doctors has worsened due to this strike, the necessity for amending the Medical Service Act has surfaced, increasing the likelihood that social discussions will accelerate.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.