After the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) stated that 90% of minor traffic accident patients complete treatment within eight weeks, the Korean Medicine Association pushed back, calling the statistic "a reflection of insurance company practices, not medical judgment."
The Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM) issued a statement on the 6th, arguing that "the timeframe presented in the government's statistics reflects insurance company claims and insurance processing structures, not the end of medical treatment or patient recovery."
According to auto insurance data from Korea's four major non-life insurers — Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, KB Insurance and DB Insurance — 88.6% of minor traffic accident patients rated injury grades 12 to 14 completed treatment within eight weeks of the accident last year. Among patients who exceeded the eight-week mark, Korean traditional medicine accounted for 87.8% of treatment utilization.
AKOM issued a point-by-point rebuttal. "According to a Board of Audit and Inspection report last year, the average treatment period for minor injury patients who did not receive future treatment cost payments — funds that insurers pre-calculate and pay in advance for treatment costs that may arise after the official end of treatment — ranged from 82 to 110 days," the association said. "Imposing a blanket eight-week cap on treatment would harm patients while benefiting insurers."
AKOM also noted, "MOLIT says patients can receive sufficient treatment through a review process after eight weeks, but under the proposed plan, an extension is allowed only once." The association added, "The fundamental purpose of the auto insurance system is to ensure traffic accident victims receive prompt and adequate treatment, and this measure contradicts that purpose."
MOLIT plans to implement the policy through an amendment to the enforcement rules of the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act. Under the so-called "8-week rule," minor traffic accident victims rated injury grades 12 to 14 would need to undergo a separate review to receive treatment beyond eight weeks. The key mechanism involves an assessment of treatment appropriateness by institutions designated under the act.
MOLIT originally announced the introduction of the rule for early this year through a revision of the act's enforcement decree last year. However, the implementation date has been postponed multiple times due to pushback from the medical community and the need for institutional refinements.