Democratic Party lawmaker Im Mi-ae joins acupuncture practitioners' committee at press conference

Only 2 licensed acupuncturists remain as medical law revision created education gap

Group announces five-point demands, including establishment of acupuncture colleges and care hospitals

This photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

A national coalition of acupuncture practitioners called Wednesday for the enactment of a dedicated acupuncture practitioners act, warning that the profession is on the verge of dying out in South Korea with only two licensed practitioners remaining — a crisis they attribute to an education gap created by a past revision of the Medical Service Act.

The group argued that as countries around the world are turning to acupuncturists as a key strategy for addressing the challenges of a super-aged society, South Korea should train acupuncture professionals to fill gaps in its own healthcare system.

At a press conference held Wednesday at the National Assembly communication room, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Im Mi-ae and the National People's Action Committee for Acupuncture Practitioners — an umbrella body representing 20 acupuncture-related organizations — unveiled a five-point set of demands.

The five demands call for the re-enactment of an acupuncture practitioners act (working title) and the establishment of a licensing examination system; permission to establish accredited acupuncture universities and research and education institutions; the creation of an acupuncture policy division within the Ministry of Health and Welfare; authorization to open primary traditional Korean medicine clinics specializing in acupuncture and moxibustion treatment; and approval for specialized acupuncture and moxibustion care hospitals for patients with chronic illnesses and terminal cancer.

According to the committee, the licensing examination system for acupuncturists — who had been classified as paramedical practitioners — was abolished when the National Medical Service Act was revised into the Medical Service Act in 1962. A further revision in 1973 allowed previously licensed acupuncturists to continue practicing, but under the current law no new acupuncturists can be certified.

Today, only two acupuncturists licensed in the 1960s remain active.

The committee also pointed to international precedents as models for filling healthcare gaps in a super-aged society: Japan, which has been producing licensed acupuncturists since the enactment of a 1947 law governing massage, acupressure, acupuncture and moxibustion practitioners; China, which legally recognizes acupuncture and trains practitioners as public health acupuncturists; and the United States, which has operated licensed acupuncturist systems in most states since California introduced one in the 1970s.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Im Mi-ae (left) and the National People's Action Committee for Acupuncture Practitioners call for the enactment of an acupuncture practitioners act at a press conference held Wednesday at the National Assembly communication room. [National People's Action Committee for Acupuncture Practitioners]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Im Mi-ae (left) and the National People's Action Committee for Acupuncture Practitioners call for the enactment of an acupuncture practitioners act at a press conference held Wednesday at the National Assembly communication room. [National People's Action Committee for Acupuncture Practitioners]

The committee called for correcting what it described as flawed past government health policy. "We must enact an acupuncture practitioners act to restore patients' right to choose their treatment and reclaim health sovereignty," it said.

On the proposed act specifically, the committee said it should "restore the acupuncture practitioner system that was forcibly abolished in 1962 and revive the formal licensing examination — including written tests in anatomy, physiology, pathology and hygiene, as well as practical acupuncture examinations — that had been in place since 1960."

On the establishment of educational institutions, the committee added that South Korea "must train specialized acupuncture professionals to meet the global standards set by countries such as the United States and Japan," calling on the government to authorize the founding of acupuncture universities and bring veteran practitioners outside the formal system into accredited clinical roles.

The committee also called for licensed acupuncturists to be granted the right to open acupuncture and moxibustion clinics and for those clinics to be designated as primary traditional Korean medicine institutions. It said dedicating such clinics to low-cost acupuncture and moxibustion treatment would help prevent the depletion of national health insurance funds and reduce the financial burden on patients.

In addition, the committee called for the approval of specialized acupuncture and moxibustion care hospitals to treat patients with dementia, stroke, terminal cancer and other conditions who have been discharged from general hospitals, allowing them to receive care and spend their remaining days in a supportive environment.


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