Can dialogue replace lawsuits in medical disputes? A new law aims to find out

Revised Medical Dispute Mediation Act set to take effect next May

Government, medical and legal experts seek path forward

Faster relief for patients left in the dark after medical accidents

A safer environment for doctors to practice without fear of prosecution

'Turning a good law into a good system starts now'

Yu Byung-hyun, president of the Korean Association for Mediation and a professor at Korea University School of Law, delivers an opening address at a joint academic conference on the revision and development of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act, held Friday afternoon at Veritas Hall in the CJ Law Building at Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. [Korean Association for Mediation]

For the revised Medical Dispute Mediation Act — set to take effect next May — to take hold in clinical settings, experts say the law must both deliver swift relief to patients harmed by medical accidents and create an environment in which medical professionals can practice without the burden of excessive criminal liability.

The Korean Association for Mediation, the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, and the Dispute Resolution Center of Korea University's Institute of Legal Studies jointly held an academic conference Friday at Veritas Hall in the CJ Law Building at Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. The event focused on the revision and future direction of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act.

The conference brought together officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency alongside medical and legal scholars and practicing attorneys. Participants shared anticipated issues ahead of the law's implementation and examined areas for improvement, with the government, the agency overseeing the system, and frontline medical and legal professionals all represented.

The Medical Dispute Mediation Act governs mediation and arbitration procedures through the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, with the aim of providing swift and fair relief to victims of medical accidents while fostering a stable environment for healthcare professionals to practice.

Presenters said the revised law focuses on building a framework that moves away from relying solely on civil and criminal litigation to resolve medical disputes, instead making use of specialized medical assessment and mediation.

Key changes include mandatory liability insurance for medical institutions and the introduction of a disclosure requirement for medical accidents. The revision also expands compensation for unavoidable medical accidents, strengthens the medical assessment and mediation system, and introduces measures to ease the criminal liability burden on medical professionals performing high-risk essential procedures that meet certain criteria.

The intent is to give patients a timely and meaningful opportunity to recover from harm, while providing medical professionals with institutional safeguards so they need not fear criminal punishment solely because of an unpredictable medical outcome.

A panel discussion takes place at a joint academic conference on the revision and development of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act, held Friday afternoon at Veritas Hall in the CJ Law Building at Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. [Korean Association for Mediation]

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the existing dispute resolution structure — centered on civil and criminal litigation — can delay relief for patients and increase the financial and criminal liability burden on medical professionals. The ministry added that the structure may also be contributing to a reluctance among doctors to enter high-acuity, essential medical fields.

Patients will also see tangible changes. When a serious medical accident occurs, healthcare institutions will be required to explain the nature of the incident, how it happened, and what follow-up measures were taken.

Another notable provision bars expressions of comfort, empathy, or regret made by medical professionals during such explanations from being used as evidence of civil or criminal liability. The measure is designed to reduce situations in which medical staff avoid communicating with patients out of legal concern, and to encourage open dialogue and explanation in the aftermath of an accident.

Participants at the conference said the law's effectiveness would be difficult to achieve if medical accidents were viewed purely as a conflict between patients and doctors. They argued that the inherent uncertainty of medical practice must be taken into account, and that relief, disclosure, mediation, incident reporting and prevention must all be addressed together.

Yu Byung-hyun, president of the Korean Association for Mediation and director of the Dispute Resolution Center at Korea University's Institute of Legal Studies, said medicine is inherently accompanied by uncertainty and that even the most diligent care can produce unexpected outcomes. "The rational direction for medical law is to create an environment where patients receive swift and substantive relief, and where medical professionals can practice with conviction, free from the anxiety of excessive criminal liability," he said.

Yu said medical accidents that occur in the course of good-faith care should not be treated solely as grounds for criminal punishment and stigma. "They must be developed into a patient safety issue through relief, explanation, mediation, reporting and learning," he said.

Participants pose for a group photo at a joint academic conference on the revision and development of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act, organized by the Korean Association for Mediation, the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, and the Dispute Resolution Center of Korea University's Institute of Legal Studies, held Friday afternoon at Veritas Hall in the CJ Law Building at Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. [Korean Association for Mediation]

Yu also stressed the importance of ensuring the law takes root as a system that people can feel in their daily lives. "Once a law is promulgated, it takes on an organic life of its own — like a poem that has left the poet's hands," he said. "The concrete shape of the system is formed as the intent of the legislators is joined by the interpretations of academics and practitioners, and by experience from the field."

"Turning a good law into a good system starts now," Yu said. "Through the stable implementation of the revised law, we must build a medical environment where patients are protected swiftly and medical professionals can practice with conviction."

ehkim@heraldcorp.com