The South Korean government is reviewing plans to establish penalty measures for non-compliance to enhance the effectiveness of mandatory liability insurance for medical institutions.

Kwak Soon-heon, Director General for Healthcare Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated during a National Assembly parliamentary audit today (October 20), "With the recent revision of the law, a shift was made from a post-relief approach to a pre-relief 'mandatory liability insurance' system. We will review measures including enforcement tools to ensure there are no gaps in providing relief to victims of medical accidents."

His remarks were made in response to an inquiry by People Power Party lawmaker Lee So-hee, who pointed out issues regarding the mandatory liability insurance and the abolition of the state compensation proxy payment system during the parliamentary audit of the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency by the Health and Welfare Committee.

Previously, the government and the National Assembly revised the Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Accidents and Mediation of Medical Disputes to mandate that operators of medical institutions join liability insurance or mutual aid programs.

The revised provisions are set to take effect in May 2027.

With mandatory liability insurance or mutual aid taking effect, the state compensation proxy payment system—which was previously operated to prepare for unpayable compensation amounts by medical institutions—will be abolished. However, some have pointed out that there are currently no penalty measures for failing to comply with the mandatory insurance requirement, and that high-amount claims exceeding the insurance coverage limits may not be properly compensated.

In response to a follow-up question asking whether sanctions other than fines are being considered, Director General Kwak stated, "We will review the matter from multiple angles."

Lee Chang-hoon, President of the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, added, "It is a valid point that despite mandating liability insurance, there are no penalty measures such as fines. However, disciplinary actions or enforcement tools do not necessarily have to be limited to fines, and administrative sanctions can be sufficiently introduced even without explicit statutory provisions."
(Photo: Yonhap News)