Assemblyman Kim Won-i, 1,828 Medical Professionals Suspended in the Past 5 Years

False Medical Certificates, Sexual Crimes, Unethical Medical Practices

"Social Consensus Needed to Align Medical License Maintenance Conditions with Public Expectations"

Won-i Kim, Member of the National Assembly (The Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Under the current Medical Service Act, medical practitioners can have their licenses suspended for acts that damage the dignity of medical professionals, rebates, falsification of certificates such as medical certificates and medical records, false claims of medical fees, and unethical medical practices.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (Mokpo City, Jeonnam), the number of doctors and other medical personnel whose licenses were suspended for various reasons from 2015 to 2019 reached 1,828.

Among the reasons for license suspension in the past five years (including overlapping reasons), rebates accounted for the largest number with 824 cases (42.1%). However, other issues also led to license suspensions, including falsification of medical records with 309 cases (15.8%), false claims of medical fees with 231 cases (11.8%), falsification of medical certificates and prescriptions with 118 cases (6.0%), instigation of medical acts with 101 cases (5.2%), medical brokerage for profit with 73 cases (3.7%), and unethical medical practices such as sexual crimes with 62 cases (3.2%).

More than three-quarters of doctors and other medical personnel who committed such various illegal and unethical acts or even criminal acts received license suspensions of less than three months.

Looking at the suspension periods, suspensions of 1 to 3 months accounted for 1,178 cases (64.4%), about two-thirds of the total, while suspensions of 4 to 6 months or more were 274 cases (15.0%), and suspensions of less than one month were 234 cases (12.8%). According to the current Medical Service Act, the maximum suspension period is one year.

In the past five years, five doctors and other medical personnel who received fines or imprisonment for sexual crimes committed during medical practice all received a one-month license suspension.

Following ongoing criticism, the ‘Medical-Related Administrative Disposition Regulations’ have been revised to extend the license suspension period to 12 months for medical personnel who commit sexual crimes during medical practice.

Assemblyman Kim Won-i stated, “It is questionable whether it is appropriate to allow doctors and other medical personnel with serious legal and ethical issues such as medical accidents, criminal acts, and private gain to continue practicing.” He added, “There is a need for social consensus that meets the public’s expectations regarding license qualification conditions and regulatory measures.”

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