A bill establishing the legal foundation for a national medical graduate school to train public healthcare workforce passed the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on May 13. Legislation limiting criminal prosecution for medical accidents in essential care—which patient and consumer groups have opposed—also cleared the standing committee.
The Health and Welfare Committee held a plenary session on May 13 and approved the bill on the establishment and operation of the National Medical Graduate School as a committee alternative. The legislation provides the legal basis for establishing a national medical graduate school to train physicians who will serve in public healthcare.
Doctors who obtain their medical licenses through the national medical graduate school must serve 15 years in public healthcare. If passed by the National Assembly plenary session and enacted, the school will admit 100 students annually starting in 2030.
The committee also passed an amendment to the Medical Accident Damage Relief and Medical Dispute Mediation Act. The bill limits criminal prosecution for essential medical care, a provision that patient and consumer groups have challenged as unconstitutional.
The amendment reduces or exempts criminal penalties for involuntary manslaughter or bodily injury occurring during high-risk essential medical procedures, including treatment of severe cases, pediatric care, emergency care, childbirth, and trauma care. Medical professionals cannot be indicted if victims receive compensation through liability insurance or similar means. Cases involving gross negligence are excluded from this protection.