• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.139-168
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• 2016

Two alternative dispute resolutions for medical dispute have been operated under the States of German Medical Associations. The first is the medical mediation committee of North german area, the other is the advisory committee on medical errors in North-Rhine area. The former has focused on the mediation itself, the latter commission has focused on the expert review itself whether the physician has maintained reasonable care in diagnosis and treatment. Even though these organizations have maintained under the medical associations, to maintain the neutrality on legal and medical decision, the North German mediation committee is composed of a lawyer and a medicine doctor respectively and North-Rhine advisory committee has a lawyer chair person and four medicine doctors. The main difference of Korean Medical Dispute Mediation Agency in respect from the german system is that expert review is subordinated to the mediation process. The neutrality of expert review is suspected from the medicine doctors. The neytrality and the efficiency should be improved to treat the medical disputes. To do so, lawyer and medicine doctor work together in mediation process and lawyer should manage the expert review process but not involved. Mediation process and expert review should be checked and balanced, and they could be developed as a separated process itself.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-116
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• 2013

Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, "K-MEDI" in abbr. herein-after, is established on Apr. 9, 2012 according to the law cited in the title above for the purpose of settling medical disputes in a prompt, fair and efficient manner. Two special professional organizations are established in K-MEDI, one of them is Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Committee(hereinafter referred to as the "Mediation Committee") and the other Medical Malpractice Appraisal Board(hereinaf-ter referred to as the "Appraisal Board"), the mission of the latter is to investigate the facts concerning the disputed medical conduct and to research as to and apprai-se whether the medical conduct was negligent and whether a causal relationship exists. Each panel organized in the Mediation Committee or the Appraisal Board shall be comprised of five mediators or appraisers, including necessarily a judge or a prose-cutor respectively and any disputed case regardless of the scale, the importance or the complicacy shall be handled by a panel. As the system is not thought efficient or economic, the number of the members comprising a panel or total members com-prising the Mediation Committee or the Appraisal Board shoud be adjusted, and the process shoud be versified, including the "Rapid Process," for instance. A petition for the mediation of a medical dispute shall be rejected if the respondent fails to notify K-MEDI of his/her intention to accede to the mediation within 14days from the day on which the petition for the mediation was served(Art. 27 Cl. 7). As the option of an arbitrary decision whether the mediation proceedings shall be commenced or not given to the respondent by the clause is thought unfair, making the process unstable, and moreover, diminishing the purpose of the system established by the law cited above for solving the medical disputes, the clause shoud be amended not to allow the respondent the option of such an arbitrary deci-sion. K-MEDI shall conduct the "Program for Compensation of Medical Accidents"(Art 46) according to which unavoidable injuries caused by the medical accidents in the cour-se of childbirth and the "Advances for Damages"(Art. 47) that are the compensating moneys paid to victims in medical malpractice cases who fail to receive money at all or partly from the operator or the professional of a public health or medical institution although he/she has a final and conclusive right to be paid by them. Some operators or professionals of such institutions claim that both the programs violate their fundamental rights assured by the constitution, and that it be a justifica-tion of refusal to accede to the mediation. As any of the programs needs not to be conducted by K-MEDI, it may be a proper solution to change the conductor of the programs to avoid the unproductive controversy.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.71-89
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• 2012

Just in case a patient's state couldn't get better or get even worse after medical practices, it is difficult for the patient's side to accept the result and it tends to think that its damage is caused by his doctor's malpractice. Medical practices of a doctor require highly advanced attention duty as a medical expert, because they are targeted at a human body of the best benefit and protection of the law. However, it is hard to prove the malpractice on the patient's side in medical dispute. Therefore, to solve a medical dispute quickly and fairly before the medical suit Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) has done a medical dispute adjustment business since 1999. For the past 5 years (2006~2010), the medical team of KCA had managed 4,171 cases as an injury relief, but it had dealt with them focusing on an injury relief business only after the occurrence of a medical accident. Afterwards, it is necessary to expand the range of its services in purpose of preventing the injury of consumers. If we can solve the problems -the clear statements about the cease of extinctive prescription in the fundamentals of comsumer act, the presence of parties directly concerned at comsumer dispute adjustment committee, and the effect of an agreement, etc. -, which have been founded in medical injury relief service of KCA and the management and procedures of the comsumer dispute adjustment committee of KCA and if we can also give KCA more workers and the proper budget of the government, we can expect KCA to become a more useful agency.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.153-185
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• 2020

In principle, even if serious consequences such as death or serious injury of a patient occur as a result of a medical accident, if the medical malpractice of a health care worker is not recognized, the health care worker is not held liable for said consequences. However, with the opening of the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency on April 7, 2012, a system was established to compensate health care personnel for their medical malpractices only in the case of "injuries caused by medical accidents in the course of childbirth" (hereinafter referred to as "program for compensation of medical accidents"). Article 46 paragraph 1 of the current Medical Dispute Mediation Act, which is the basis of the Force Majeure Medical Accident Compensation System, stipulates that "medical accidents under delivery" claims are to be determined by the Medical Accident Compensation Review Committee are subject to the compensation project. And the details of the compensation, ratio of sharing financial resources for compensation, scope of compensation, and the guidelines and procedure for the payment of compensations are prescribed by Presidential Decree. In other words, the Presidential Decree requires the state to pay 70 percent of the compensation funds, and 30 percent of the above funds among health care providers. The Constitutional Court has decided on the 2015Hun-Ga13 that the scope of the health care institution's founders and the share of the compensation funds cannot be directly determined by the law, and that the portion delegated by the Presidential decree does not violate the Principle of Legal Protection nor Comprehensive Nondelegation Doctrine. However, this can be seen as an exclusion of accountability for force-induced delivery accidents even if there is no negligence of the medical staff. If the nature of the system is a type of social security system with a social compensatory nature, it could consider eliminating the health care innovator's cost-sharing provisions, leaving the full cost to the state. However, it is also necessary to review institutional protocols that strengthen the efforts of medical institutions in areas such as analysis of the causes of medical accidents and measures to prevent their recurrence. In addition, I think that the conclusion of the Act is in line with the purpose of the Comprehensive Wage Support Regulations that at minimum the law sets an upper limit of the compensation funds that are to be paid by health and medical institutions. Moreover, it is reasonable for the Medical Accident Compensation Review Committee to specify gestational age and weight of births, which are the criteria for compensation, under the Enforcement Decree of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act, in relation to the criteria for payment of contributions by the Medical Accident Compensation Review Committee, and to set the detailed criteria.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.571-581
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• 2020

There are large, medium, and small items in the evaluation test for medical interpreter professionals personnel and the criteria and level are not clear, which may cause confusion for those preparing for the test. Therefore, we would like to suggest that the qualification requirements for the medical translation ability test and the criteria for the evaluation items are consistent with the medical system in Korea. The survey on the medical interpreter competency test conducted was collected from domestic and foreign data, compared with similar test and overseas test. We also examined the perception of the test by experts with experience in developing and interpreting the medical interpretation test. As a result, in the 'International Culture' evaluation category, 'Language-oriented culture' was changed to 'Medical-oriented culture' and 'Interpretation ethics' was changed to 'Medical interpretation ethics'. In the evaluation items of the hospital system, the 'Medical Dispute Mediation Act', which is 「ACT ON MEDIATION OF MEDICAL DISPUTES」 of the middle item was changed the 「ACT ON REMEDIES FOR INJURIES FROM MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND MEDIATION OF MEDICAL DISPUTES」 and the Act also reduced the four items related to the 'Medical Tourism Law' to two and added the 「ACT ON SUPPORTING THE ADVANCEMENT OF MEDICAL OVERSEAS AND ATTRACTING FOREIGN PATIENTS」. If the Medical Interpretation Proficiency Test is prepared in accordance with the medical culture of Korea, it is expected that there will be a stable opportunity for professionals who pass the examination to act as experts.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.139-171
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• 2018

The 「Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Malpractice and Mediation of Medical Disputes」(hereinafter referred to as 'the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes') provides that the state should compensate the victims of medical accidents occurred irresistibly in childbirth despite that health and medical service personnel fulfilled their duty of care for their damage within the range of its budget(Article 46 of the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes). Given that victims of medical accidents could expect demage recovery only through lawsuits thus far, this act can be said to be a groundbreaking act. However, However, as 30% of the costs for such medical accident compensation projects are borne by those who have records of childbirth among the founders of health and medical institutions (Article 21 of the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes), there has been a question about whether doctors are held responsible despite that the accidents such as the deaths of mothers and newborn babies occurred irresistibly without doctors' fault. However, recently, the Constitutional Court ruled that 'the range of founders of health and medical institutions' and 'share ratios of finances for compensation' in Article 46 (3) of the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes' related to the imposition of the share of costs are institutional (Constitutional Court ruling dated April 26, 2018, 2015Heonga13, hereinafter referred to as 'the ruling in the case'). Although the ruling in the case was made based on only the principle of statutory reservation and the principle of ban on comprehensive authorization, this paper added a practical judgment. This paper proved that the share of costs in this case has the nature of burden charges in pursuit of study and does not infringe on the property rights of the founders of health medical institutions even in light of the principle of proportionality because there is a legitimate reason for imposing the burden charge. The imposition of the share of costs in the system for compensation for medical accidents occurred irresistibly is against the principle of liability with fault in part. However, the medical accident compensation projects are rational a national policy for the victims of medical accidents and the medical world clearly gains some benefits from the effect to terminate medical disputes. The expansion of finances for compensation through the payments of the share of costs will reduce the suffering and misunderstanding of victims of medical accidents occurred in the process of childbirth and will be very helpful to the construction of stable treatment environments of medical workers by quickly establishing the medical accident compensation projects as such.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.474-477
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• 2018

Objective : From November 30, 2016, the Korean Government carried the revised Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Act into effect. Mediation will start automatically without agreements of the defendant, when the outcome of the patient was death, coma more than a month or severe disability. Cerebral aneurysm has a definite risk of bad outcome, especially in the worst condition. Any surgical intervention to this lesion has its own high risk of complications. Recently, Seoul central district court decided 50% responsibility of the doctors who made a rupture of the aneurysm during coiling (2015Ga-Dan5243104). We reviewed judicial precedents related to cerebral aneurysms in lawsuit using a web search. Methods : We searched judicial precedents at a web search of the Supreme Court, using the key words, "cerebral aneurysm". Results : There were 15 precedents, six from the Supreme Court, seven from the High Court, and two from district courts. Seven precedents were related to the causation analysis, such as work-relationship. Five precedents were malpractice suits related bad results or complications. Remaining three precedents were related to the insurance payment. In five malpractice precedents, two precedents of the Supreme Court reversed former two precedents of the High Court. Conclusion : Judicial precedents on the cerebral aneurysm included not only malpractice suits, but also causation analysis or insurance payment. Attention to these subjects is needed. We also need education of the independent medical examination. To avoid medical disputes, shared decision making seems to be useful, especially in cases of high risk condition or procedures.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.107-135
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• 2016

Medical tour can be said to be a new high added-value tour industry of 21st century. The development of varied and distinguished medical tour products by each country will further vitalize the medical tour industry. As the interest in such medical tour increases, it is necessary to analyze the demand and interests of tourists accurately and prepare medical tour products to be provided in order to develop and promote medical tour products. The government considers the medical tour industry as an industry with high expected effects in job creation through promotion of experts in global healthcare industry and national economy development through high added-value creation, and has expanded aid policies in medical tour field with improvement of medical tour immigration system, one-stop service system for medical tourists, and medical tour labor force promotion system. Nevertheless, there are disputes between foreign patients and medical tour inviting businesses, along with medical accident disputes between foreign patients and medical staff and disputes with those working in the tourism industry. This article reviews the types of disputes occurring around the inviting businesses related to medical tours and tried to review the resolutions. Through this, it was found that medical tour inviting businesses have the responsibility to connect the mediated benefits and risks and also the responsibility to process the tasks. Thus, in case dispute occurs due to passive actions from establishing agency agreement to active mediation results, it is difficult to escape the liabilities. Also, in a medical tour agency contract, the inviting business must be aware that it bears the responsibility to explain and advise the details on benefits and risks to foreign patients. The "Guide to arbitration system for resolution of medical disputes with foreign patients" by Korea Health Industry Development Institute Act presents a method to resolve disputes according to the [laws on medical accident damage relief and medical dispute arbitration] in case a dispute due to medical accidents occurs to foreign patients when the foreign patients prepare diagnosis agreement, Whether such method is sufficient to protect foreign patients, however, is thought to require discussions from more diverse perspectives. In order to vitalize medical tourism, the development of diverse products is also important, but the countermeasures against related disputes should also be prepared. Such is expected to contribute to a greater advancement based on trust of foreign medical tourists alongside excellent medical technologies.