Medical Doctors Oppose Proposed Amendment to Medical Service Act Allowing Korean Medicine Doctors to Use X-rays, Citing "Threat to Public Safety"

Korean Medical Association and Association of Korean Medicine Clash
"Threat to Public Safety" vs "Guaranteeing the Right to Choose Treatment"

Suh Youngseok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, recently proposed an amendment to the Medical Service Act that would allow Korean medicine doctors to legally use X-rays. This has led to a direct confrontation between medical doctors and Korean medicine doctors.

Medical doctors’ organizations strongly opposed the move, calling it a "dangerous experiment on the public." On the other hand, organizations representing Korean medicine doctors urged the government to make a decisive move, criticizing what they described as "meaningless professional self-interest."

X-ray. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) Pixabay

According to the National Assembly and the medical community on October 21, there has been a surge of opinions both for and against allowing Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays. As of 8 p.m., just one day before the end of the legislative notice period (October 13-22) for the amendment bill sponsored by Assemblyman Suh, approximately 24,000 comments had been submitted.

In the proposed amendment to the Medical Service Act, Assemblyman Suh introduced a new provision stating that "if the founder or manager of a medical institution installs diagnostic radiation-emitting devices, they may serve as the safety management officer."

The medical community interpreted this bill as providing the legal basis for Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays without the need to employ separate medical doctors or radiological technologists.

On October 16, the Korean Medical Association, together with its Special Committee on Korean Medicine Measures, as well as related academic societies and associations in radiology, rehabilitation medicine, and orthopedics, held an emergency meeting to discuss a joint response. At that time, the association criticized the bill as a "reckless and irrational attempt to institutionalize the use of X-rays by Korean medicine doctors."

On May 8th, a press conference of the Korean Medical Association's Special Committee on Korean Medicine Measures regarding the 'Infringement of Medical Doctors' Domain by Korean Medicine Doctors' was held at the Korean Medical Association in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The conflict between medical doctors and Korean medicine doctors over the use of medical devices such as X-rays is not new. In January, the Suwon District Court acquitted a Korean medicine doctor who had been indicted for violating the Medical Service Act by using an X-ray-based bone densitometer in clinical practice, upholding the verdict from the first trial. The prosecution did not appeal, making the acquittal final. Following this, the Association of Korean Medicine announced its intention to actively utilize X-rays.

The association argued that the educational foundation for Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays is already sufficient, as all 11 Korean medicine colleges and one graduate school of Korean medicine nationwide provide ample training in X-ray diagnostics, and questions related to X-rays are regularly included in both the national licensing exam and university tests for Korean medicine doctors.

The Association of Korean Medicine issued a statement the previous day, asserting that "allowing Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays is a timely demand to ensure patient safety and the right to choose their treatment," and called for the immediate passage of the proposed amendment.

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