• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.215-234
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• 2007

The mission of the doctors is to take care of human life, body and health through the medical behaviors such as diagnosis and treatment. Under this job propensity, the doctors have care duty to take the best actions required to prevent the risk according to the patients' specific disease status. Such care duty of the doctor may be evaluated based on the medical behavior level at the medical institution and clinical medical study field. Such medical level should be understood in the normative level, considering the treatment environment, condition and specialty of the behavior, because it means the medical common sense known and acknowledged to the normal doctors. While the criminal suit requires the evidence for no doubt conviction, the civil suit requires more eased different standard. The results between the criminal and civil sentence may be different, because the confirmed former case may lead to long-term imprisonment and even death penalty, while the latter case puts only monetary penalty on the defeated party.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.319-382
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• 2008

As a withdrawing care's study, the purpose of this study is searching about withdrawing care's acceptance and circumstances through Bora-mae hospital case(chapter 1). Withdrawing life-sustaining treatment has various forms. Though the meaning of euthanasia, death with dignity, natural death, physician assisted suicide are duplicated, the meaning of those are different slightly. Firstly, this study looks about the difference of the those meaning and acceptance range(condition) by withdrawing care's forms(chapter 2). Bora-mae hospital case sentenced guilty about physician who discharged incompetent patient who was after surgery by patient's wife determination. This Bora-mae case that sentenced guilty about discharge against medical advise(DAMA) that is regarded to custom has brought intensive confliction of legal, social, medical aspect, Bora-mae hospital case has many legal problems. First, as to criminal law rule 250(murder), the problem is whether discharge and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment is commission or omission. this study concluded omission(district court: omission, appeal, supreme court: commission). Because legal denounce point of discharge and medical treatment withdrawing is omission that physician who is obligatory on patient to cure. If physician's act is regarded omission, it is necessary to determine whether he has guardian status and obligation. Without guardian status and obligation, omission crime can't exist. This study decided that physician had guardian status and obligation and foundation of guardian status was pre-action or acceptance of emergency patient. Physician's medical treatment duty finished when patient(or patient's guardian) demands discharge. But when patient death is foreseen and other possible treatment does not exist, his duty of life prolonging treatment does not finish. This originate from physician's social responsibility and public status that limits patient's private liberty. This study regarded physician's action as accomplice about whether physician's discharging action is accomplice or the principal offender(district court: the principal offender, appeal, supreme court: accomplice). Though the principal offender needs criminal determination and action, there is no this common determination and functional action control of physician in Bora-mae case(chapter 3). Bora-mae hospital case partly originated from deficiency of legal, institutive system including medical security system shortage, the instruction is 1. medical security system strengthening, 2. hospital ethical committee's activity strengthening, 3. institutionalization of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, 4. acceptance of pre-decision making system, 5. sufficient persuasion of physician for patient and faithful writing of medical paper, 6. respect for patients' self-determination and rights, 7. consciousness's changing for withdrawing life-sustaining treatment and persistent education about medical ethics(chapter 4). Considering Bora-mae case, medical sector is not the dead ground of a criminal punishment. Intervention of criminal law in medical sector give rise to ill effect, that is, excess medical examination and treatment, safeguard treatment, delay of discharge from a hospital. Because sufficient guarantee of life becomes mere empty slogan under situation that impose a burden of heavy cost to family or hospital, public and systematic solution should be given(chapter 5).

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.3-40
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• 2018

Conventionally, there were few cases in which a medical accident became a criminal case in Japan. However, after the serious malpractice such as the Yokohama City University Hospital case, prosecutors came to be less hesitant to prosecute a malpractice. In a medical accident, the attribution of the responsibilities among medical personnel becomes one important element of the proof of negligence. The Supreme Court concluded that, when the attribution of the responsibilities is not established among medical personnel to confirm the identity of the patient like the Yokohama City University Hospital case, all the personnel who were involved bear the responsibilities to identify the patient. For serious cases which requireut most carefulness fortreatment such as the Saitama Medical University Hospital case, not only the chief physician in charge of the case concerned but also the director of the branch at the university hospital bear the responsibilities to confirm the treatment policy of the case. After the acquittal of the Ohno Hospital case, the voice demanding more prudent prosecution of malpractices has become stronger than before. Meanwhile, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare introduced Medical Accidents Investigation System for the prevention of medical accident and, has reinforced the third party inspection of medical accidents.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.20 no.4 s.64
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• pp.77-90
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• 2006

This is for Criminal Law problem that can be happened during the rescue working of 119 rescue member. There are mainly 3sections can be Criminal Law Problem. At first, denying a rescue request. Second, thing that do not transfer patient or people need someone's help by their refusal. Third, emergency medical management. It can be criminal act if somebody do the 3sections thing under Law about emergency medical treatment. It also can be homicide under Criminal Law or accidental homicide, a charge of injuring a person if people need rescue die or become worse through the work. Rescuers are responsible for a criminal case by their carelessness and fault. A plan has to remain to protect them when they do violence to the life and health of a people inevitably. This paper examines the plan can protect them through the analysis and application of related Law about rescuer's work which can be Criminal Law Problem, presents rational establish plan of Rescuer Protect Law to make them their job well as a rescuer.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.83-107
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• 2019

This article focuses on §10 of Criminal Act of the Republic of Korea to discuss how to determine criminal responsibility of a perpetrator suffering from mental disorders, while reviewing existing process and standards of mental examination at each stage of the criminal procedure as well as exploring suggestions regarding how they should be complied. The determination of the sanity or criminal responsibility of the mentally ill as defined in the §10 of Criminal Act, by its nature, cannot be approached with a traditional, clear-cut dichotomy of biology by medical practitioner and psychology·normative science by lawyer. Looking into the actual procedure of determining mental and physical disorder with special consideration of mental illness reveals the inevitability of collaboration between lawyers and psychiatrists. In the meantime, the process and standards of mental examination at each stage of the criminal procedure must be definitive and clear. First of all, during the investigation stage, examination prior to prosecution should be more actively encouraged, considering that judging sanity of the perpetrator at the time of committing a criminal act is important. During the trial stage, the mandatory examination must be conducted depending on the sensitivity and gravity of the case. Next, medical examination to determine criminal responsibility and the one to order treatment and custody must be separately conducted in order to properly execute medical treatment and custody. Obligatory mental examination could be considered both during the stage of request for and execution of the treatment and custody. Lastly, the procedure of examination and format of examination documents need to be standardized for better objectivity and reliability.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.3-26
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• 2023

This paper reviewed the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act issues in case of self-administration of medicines by medical personnel without going through the general process (prescription, dispensing, distribution, administration). If a medical personnel self-medicates, the medicine supplier or medical personnel may be subject to criminal punishment under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. The core reprehensibility of the punishment lies in undermining the order in distribution of medicines stipulated in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. First, the sale of medicines by a medicine supplier to medical personnel may be the violation of Article 47 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. However, if it was distributed for the case where medical personnels can dispense it directly under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, it can be justified under the general provision of the Criminal Act (justifiable act, the exclusion of illegality). If medicine suppliers distribute medicines knowing that the medical personnel acquires medicines for selfadministration, they can be punished as the violation of Article 47 of Pharmaceutical Act. Second, when a medical personnel acquires a medicine for the purpose of self-administration, the medicine supplier distributes the medicine under the false pretense that the medical personnel acquires the medicine for the case in which the medical personnel can directly dispense the medicine according to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. At this time, even if the medicine supplier has received all the payment for the medicines, the distribution of the medicines by deceit can constitute the fraud under the Criminal Act. Third, self-administration by medical personnel is a the violation of Article 23 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. It is not a justifiable act under the general provision of the Criminal Act. This is because it is the abuse of the special status granted to medical personnel in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, which undermines the order in distribution of medicines.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.435-459
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• 2014

Supreme Court of Korea has been mitigating the burden of proof on the malpractice and causal relation by a patient in accordance with the practical transfer of such burden of proof on causal relation as well as relieving a doctor's burden of proof on mistake in the civil damage claim suits on the malpractice. However, a prosecutor shall strictly prove the causal relation between malpractice and unfavorable results as well as a doctor's mistake in the criminal cases for making a doctor accept the professional negligence resulting in death or injury in accordance with In Dubio Pro Reo principles. Furthermore, it shall not be allowed to relieve the burden of proof on malpractice and causal relation which has been frequently applied in the civil proceedings. Nevertheless, it was widely known that the front-line courts accepted the malpractice and causal relation by quoting the legal principles on relieving the burden of proof on malpractice and causal relation applied in the civil cases even in criminal cases with no or insufficient proof on malpractice or causal relation. However, the latest precedents in Supreme Court explicitly declared the opinion that there was no reason to apply the legal principle to relieve the burden of proof on the malpractice and causal relation in the criminal cases requiring the proof 'which doesn't cause any reasonable doubt' on malpractice and causal relation in accordance with the legal principles 'favorable judgment for a defendant in case of any doubt' on the basis of the strict principle of 'nulla poena sine lege.' Accordingly, Supreme court definitely clarified that there would be no reason to relieve the burden of proof on malpractice and causal relation in criminal cases by reversing several original judgments accepting malpractice and causal relation even though there were no strict evidence.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.101-130
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• 2023

Korea has very easy access to tertiary hospitals, including university hospitals, among OECD countries, and patients can reach the emergency room of a university hospital within 1-2 hours. However, there are many so-called 'essential medical' blind spots where people die because they do not receive surgery in time. In particular, in the case of essential medical care in the surgical field, despite basic surgery, there is a shortage of medical staff to perform outpatient surgery in emergency situations at university hospitals. Although this lack of manpower has a problem with low insurance premiums for surgery, it also has a very large impact on the burden of criminal liability for medical malpractice, which increases the incidence in case of emergencies. Here, we propose crime immunity to solve the manpower shortage of converged smart surgical essential medical (SES) hospitals. Currently, the medical community agrees on the need for crime immunity, but it is an ambiguous scope of immunity that has not reached a national consensus. We would like to present clear standards for essential medical practices (surgery) that require criminal immunity.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.323-361
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• 2009

In Korea, Abortion in the Criminal Law is an illegal act in exception of on which abortion may be carried out through the grounds are very limited and related such a emergency situation of women's physical health, rape, incest and genetic diseases. The Criminal Law regulates the mother's act of abortion and the doctor's surgical performance of abortion. The Mother and the Child Health Law prescribes the medical, ethical, and genetic grounds for the legal permission of abortion. Many people tend to abuse of abortion even though they are fully aware of its illegality. The law lead to be inconsistent with its enforcement. In this paper, I would like to suggest some proposals about the legal analysis of the Abortion Regulations th reform the existing regulation and increase th effectiveness of the regulations. Recently, in a case of the a maternity hospital where a midwife left alone a diabetes pregnancy women who had a baby, and the overweight baby(5.2Kg) died in the uterus due to hypoxic states. Supreme Court of Korea 2007.6.29. 2005do3832) had given a verdict of "not guilty". It looked like there were very fair with current crime law. But, we want this case to be investigated if there weren't any logical contradictions as well as concurrent translation within Constitution Law. Now the Mother and the Child Health Law prescribes the medical, ethical, and genetic grounds for the legal permission of abortion. But this law does not include social and economic grounds.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.107-117
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• 2010

In this paper, the researcher looked into major issues in the "Act (Draft) on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation, etc." which was proposed by the Health & Welfare Committee, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and which was pending with the Legislation & Judiciary Committee. Then the researcher pointed out worrisome problems therein and presented suggestion" to improve problematic situations. First of all, the researcher examined the following items which are major points in the aforementioned Act: 1) Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Center, 2) Procedures for mediation and arbitration of medical disputes, 3) Establishment of Medical Injury Compensation Association, 4) Introduction of proxy payment for damages, 5) Compensation for no-fault medical accidents, 6) A system concerned with special cases on criminal punishment. Next, the researcher closely reviewed the following possible issues: 1) Limit of arbitrary mediation, 2) Postponement of the system concerned with special case on criminal punishment, 3) Examination of reasons for rejection, 4) Function and role of the Appraisal department, 5) A possibility of being reduced to an evidence collection procedure for lawsuit, 6) A possibility of no-fault compensation rather than injury compensation, 7) Operational issues related proxy payment for damages. Lastly, the researcher presented suggestions on how to improve each problematic issue.