Patient advocacy groups are pushing back against proposed legislation that would shield doctors from prosecution in fatal medical accidents, calling it "an unconstitutional idea that abandons patients' right to life."
The Korea Alliance of Patients' Organizations held a press conference Monday at its Seoul office to criticize medical malpractice legislation recently introduced in the National Assembly. The group argued the proposed amendments to the Act on Remedies for Damage from Medical Accidents and Mediation of Medical Disputes would heighten anxiety among medical accident victims.
Three separate bills sponsored by lawmakers Kim Yoon, Han Ji-a, and Park Hee-seung of the Health and Welfare Committee are currently pending in the National Assembly. The legislation aims to reduce legal risks cited as a key reason young physicians avoid essential medical services. With bipartisan sponsorship, the bills appear likely to pass, potentially before the June 3 local elections scheduled in about 110 days.
"We're not opposed to everything and there's room for compromise," said Ahn Ki-jong, head of the alliance. "However, we cannot accept unconstitutional elements such as prohibiting prosecution for fatal medical accidents."
All three bills would bar prosecution for simple negligence in essential medical fields if the healthcare provider pays full compensation. Rep. Kim's bill imposes the strictest requirements, mandating that providers also explain the circumstances and maintain liability insurance to qualify for immunity.
"Fatal accidents are matters of public interest that require investigation by prosecutors as state authority. No country in the world grants criminal immunity for deaths," Ahn said. He cited a Constitutional Court ruling that struck down similar provisions for serious injuries under traffic accident laws.
The alliance expressed particular concern that blocking criminal proceedings would impede truth-finding. "What medical accident victims want most is not punishment or compensation but truth," Ahn said. "Without police and prosecutorial investigation, patients cannot get to the truth."
The conference also featured Kim So-hee, whose four-year-old son died in 2019 after being turned away by multiple emergency rooms. "I asked the hospital because I wanted to know the truth, but they just said 'take legal action,'" she said. "I had no choice but to file criminal charges."
A first-instance court ruled last October that medical staff were not guilty of professional negligence causing death, but convicted them of falsifying medical records and violating emergency medical laws. Investigation revealed that contrary to the hospital's claim of treating another cardiac arrest patient, no such patient existed and records had been fabricated.
The government's medical reform plan announced last year includes establishing a Medical Accident Deliberation Committee. However, the committee can only convene after police or prosecutors accept a case—meaning prosecution bars could prevent the committee from functioning entirely.
The alliance argued that the root causes of essential care avoidance lie in low profitability and poor working conditions rather than legal risks. It called on the government to focus on fee support and workplace improvements instead of immunity provisions, and urged limiting special provisions to four critical areas: emergency care, trauma, childbirth, and severe pediatric conditions including childhood cancer.
"I understand that doctors face difficulties when summoned multiple times for investigations," Ahn said. "But we cannot accept outright prohibition of prosecution. We have decided internally to file a constitutional appeal if any bill containing prosecution bars passes."