Even After 747 Surgeries by Assistant Doctors, Only 4-Month License Suspension... 'Ghost Doctors' Still Face Lenient Punishments

[Image source = Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Doctors caught performing 'proxy surgeries,' where unqualified individuals conduct surgeries on their behalf, and 'ghost surgeries,' where the surgeon is secretly changed without the patient's knowledge, have received virtually lenient punishments, sparking controversy. As a result, calls for regulations such as mandatory closed-circuit (CC) TV installation in operating rooms are growing louder.

On the 9th, Kwon Chil-seung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, confirmed through data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare that administrative sanctions for doctors who ordered proxy surgeries, totaling 747 cases, amounted to only a 4-month suspension of qualifications, revealing that regulations on proxy and ghost surgeries are effectively meaningless.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's submitted data titled "Status of Administrative Sanctions on Doctors Who Ordered Proxy Surgeries," the Ministry defines ghost surgery as a case where a different doctor than the one informed to the patient before surgery performs the operation without the patient's consent, and proxy surgery as medical acts performed by someone other than the doctor in the operating room.

Representative Kwon stated that from 2015 to 2019, a total of 28 administrative sanctions were imposed on doctors who ordered proxy surgeries, of which 5 were license revocations and the rest were suspensions of qualifications.

In particular, Doctor A, who committed medical law violations by entrusting surgeries to nursing assistants 747 times and paying referral fees to taxi drivers, received a mere 4-month suspension of qualifications, effectively a 'lenient' punishment.

Doctor B, who instructed an employee of a medical device sales company to perform unlicensed medical acts about 100 times in 2018, also received a 3-month suspension, and Doctor C, who involved the CEO of a medical device sales company in surgeries approximately 74 times, was similarly given only a 3-month suspension.

Under the current Medical Service Act, unlicensed medical practitioners can face imprisonment of up to 5 years or fines up to 50 million won, but medical professionals who order or instruct such acts can only be suspended for up to 1 year.

Kwon Chil-seung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is discussing the partial amendment bill of the Public Official Election Act (Electoral District Delimitation Bill) at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the morning of March 7. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 8th, Kim Seon-woong, former legal director of the Korean Society of Plastic Surgeons, who appeared as a reference witness, strongly criticized the rampant proxy surgeries, calling it "a human slaughterhouse business" and estimating that "there are two or three hospitals where 30 people were killed."

Former Director Kim reported that some hospitals operate in a 'factory-style' manner, attracting many patients by promoting star doctors while the actual surgeries are performed by others, and said, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare seems to confuse surgeries with the beauty industry that designs hairstyles. Bizarre situations are occurring, and corpses are piling up," raising his voice.

Representative Kwon said, "Administrative sanctions on medical professionals who ordered proxy or ghost surgeries are at a lenient level," and added, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare must conduct active investigations and establish definite eradication measures such as mandatory installation of closed-circuit (CC) TVs in operating rooms and raising punishment standards."

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