SEOUL — As South Korea approaches the third anniversary of the controversial expansion of its medical license revocation regulations, health authorities have rejected calls to soften the legislation, arguing that any rollback is premature.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) recently reaffirmed its commitment to the current legal framework in response to parliamentary inquiries submitted by opposition lawmaker Rep. Kim Tae-ho of the People Power Party during national audit reviews.

Enacted in November 2023 despite strong resistance from the medical community, the amended Medical Service Act broadened the criteria for stripping medical professionals of their licenses. Under the current law, disqualification applies to nearly all criminal convictions resulting in imprisonment or worse, excluding only professional negligence leading to injury or death.

Depending on the nature of the sentence, barred practitioners face multi-year waiting periods before they can apply for license reinstatement. Reissuance requires approval from a multi-stakeholder administrative review panel, and practitioners who regain their credentials remain subject to immediate revocation if they trigger standard suspension criteria later on.

Rep. Kim pressed health officials on whether the government would support narrowing these disqualification thresholds, shortening reissuance bans, and removing provisions that allow reissued licenses to be stripped over minor disciplinary infractions.

However, the MOHW dismissed the suggestions. Officials emphasized that the rules were the product of bipartisan compromise in the previous legislative session and remain necessary. The ministry noted that revocations triggered by serious offenses, including drunk driving and sex crimes, continue to emerge.

"Any reduction in disqualification standards requires careful, data-driven analysis of past revocations backed by broad social consensus," the ministry stated, underscoring that public safety and patient trust must take precedence over the personal interests of disciplined medical personnel.

Legislative efforts to dilute the penalties have faced hurdles in parliament. A separate amendment bill introduced by former lawmaker Kim Ye-ji sought to restrict license-stripping offenses back to medical-specific law violations and major violent or sexual crimes, while easing reissuance restrictions. Although reviewed by the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee subcommittee, that proposal has remained stalled amid ongoing pushback that modifying the framework so soon after its rollout is ill-timed.

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