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Lawmaker pushes bill to strip convicted doctors of licenses
By Kim ArinPublished : Aug. 7, 2019 - 14:09
Ruling Democratic Party Rep. Kwon Chil-seung proposed Tuesday a bill prohibiting doctors convicted of violent crimes from practicing medicine.
If it passes, physicians who have committed murder, burglary, sexual assault, drug offenses or human trafficking will be banned from practicing medicine.
The proposed bill asks to revoke the licenses of medical professionals found guilty of such crimes and grant patients access to information about medical professionals with criminal records.
Kwon said a revised law in 2000 limited the revocation of medical licenses to violations of medical laws, with the aim of ensuring greater availability of medical services.
Under the current law, a doctor’s license is taken away only if he or she is found guilty of performing an abortion, lending the license to another person, charging patients unfairly or deliberately misdiagnosing.
According to Kwon, a doctor in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2007 for raping patients sedated for endoscopies.
In Seoul, a doctor raped a woman and sprayed his own blood over the victim’s home to threaten her in 2011. He was sentenced to a year in jail, but the sentence was suspended for two years.
In both instances, the doctors kept their licenses and continue to practice today.
The law also does not allow for making public information on medical professionals suspended or banned from practicing medicine, leading to situations in which patients receive medical services from offenders.
Kwon said such leniency applies only to doctors. Other licensed professions, including lawyers, judicial scriveners and realtors, would be permanently disqualified from practicing if convicted of the same crimes.
“In the US, while it varies from state to state, doctors with a criminal history would not be relicensed, and the information is open to the public,” Kwon said.
“Letting patients receive treatment from doctors who have had their licenses suspended or revoked is not only ethically troubling but an infringement of health rights,” he said.
If it passes, physicians who have committed murder, burglary, sexual assault, drug offenses or human trafficking will be banned from practicing medicine.
The proposed bill asks to revoke the licenses of medical professionals found guilty of such crimes and grant patients access to information about medical professionals with criminal records.
Kwon said a revised law in 2000 limited the revocation of medical licenses to violations of medical laws, with the aim of ensuring greater availability of medical services.
Under the current law, a doctor’s license is taken away only if he or she is found guilty of performing an abortion, lending the license to another person, charging patients unfairly or deliberately misdiagnosing.
According to Kwon, a doctor in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2007 for raping patients sedated for endoscopies.
In Seoul, a doctor raped a woman and sprayed his own blood over the victim’s home to threaten her in 2011. He was sentenced to a year in jail, but the sentence was suspended for two years.
In both instances, the doctors kept their licenses and continue to practice today.
The law also does not allow for making public information on medical professionals suspended or banned from practicing medicine, leading to situations in which patients receive medical services from offenders.
Kwon said such leniency applies only to doctors. Other licensed professions, including lawyers, judicial scriveners and realtors, would be permanently disqualified from practicing if convicted of the same crimes.
“In the US, while it varies from state to state, doctors with a criminal history would not be relicensed, and the information is open to the public,” Kwon said.
“Letting patients receive treatment from doctors who have had their licenses suspended or revoked is not only ethically troubling but an infringement of health rights,” he said.
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
