Abstract
Background and Aim : Health care and cosmetics as well as quality of life is now a matter of concern and many categories of complementary and alternative medicine fall into the territory of the medical practice of Korean medicine. Accordingly, penalties are being taken for unlicensed medical practices of Korean medicine in so called complementary and alternative medicine area. There is a possibility of violating the law for the public part because it is not clearly stipulated in the law as to what is a licensed medical practice. Materials and Method : The significance of the Medical Service Act and the Act on Special Measures for the Control of Public Health Crimes were reviewed, and the related supreme court cases were discussed upon the legal aspect of processing the unlicensed medical practice of Korean medicine. The legal information was provided from the National Law Information Center of the Ministry of Government Legislation, and the information websites of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. Results : The concept of medical practice, which is essential in judging the case of unlicensed medical practice, is 'prevention and treatment of diseases through diagnosis, examination, prescribing, medication, or surgical procedures based on medical expertise', and the 'acts that may result in harm and injury of health unless performed by a medical person'. With respect to the medical practice of Korean medicine, the concept includes 'prevention and treatment of diseases using the principle of traditional Korean Medicine'. Conclusions : The concept of medical practice should be clearly stipulated in the law for the control over the unlicensed medical practices of Korean medicine. And it is important to move from the current concept of medical person-oriented medical practice emerging from the national system of healthcare control, to a concept that can accept the era of health managing-oriented medical environment and the co-governance of the healthcare providers and consumers for the future.
