• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.117-144
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• 2013

After several bills for the reasonable medical dispute resolution had been proposed for over twenty years, "Act on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation" was eventually enacted on April 7, 2011 and came into effect from April 8, 2012. This study evaluates the achievements and results of the past year, suggesting the future improvements or tasks. The main issue of Act on Medical Dispute Mediation is Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. Therefore, the success of the Act depends on the outcomes of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. Although the Act has been enforced for only one year, this paper examines the outcomes of the Agency with limited materials for its development. Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency was established for rapid, fair, and effective medical dispute resolution. Thus, the evaluation of the performances of the Agency is based on the 1) rapidness, 2) fairness, and 3) effectiveness of the dispute resolution. To sum up, the system earned positive evaluations as for the rapidness and fairness, but some problems were indicated with regard to the effectiveness. As the system of medical dispute mediation and arbitration in Korea has no parallel in the world, other countries show many interests in it. The rapid and fair medical dispute resolution is of benefit in both patients and medical institutes and decreases social costs. As the Act had a difficult passage through Parliament, it should be maintained and improved continuously.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.43-83
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• 2013

Medical treatment has great potential for conflict. Even the best-trained doctors can commit medical malpractice that result in continuing physical or mental disabilities or even death. Medical conflicts have been increasing over years. The medical conflicts between patient and medical professionals that result from medical professionals' mistakes are often fueled by a violation on the pretext of the injuries form medical malpractice and can lead to litigation. The litigation usually cost a lot of money and time. The extension of the litigation period as well as expensive cost and lack of medical knowledge placing a great burden on patients. Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) is more efficient than litigation. In 1988, the medical dispute mediation system has been introduces as the Act on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation by Korean Medical Association came into effect after 23 years of enactment efforts. Medical Dispute Mediation Act(hereinafter referred to as the "MDMA") has finally entered into force from 8 April 2012. The purpose of the MDMA is to promptly and fairly redress injuries caused by medical malpractice and create a stable environment for medical services of public health or medical professionals by providing for matters regarding the mediation and arbitration of medical disputes(MDMA ${\S}1$). In an effort to secure the fair, speedy and inexpensive resolution of every malpractice case, the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency(hereinafter referred to as the "K-MEDI") was established. Following the MDMA, the K-MEDI shall endeavor to ensure the medical dispute mediation or arbitration proceedings are conducted in a prompt, fair, and efficient manner, and patients and medical professionals shall attend proceedings in good faith with mutual trust and understanding when they participate in medical dispute mediation or arbitration proceedings.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.169-208
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• 2016

"Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Malpractive and Mediation of Medical Disputes)" has been enacted to solve medical dispute. In addition, mediation and arbitration procedures have started since April 8th, 2012 from the Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. The average initiation rate of mediation for the past three years turned out to be 43%. Hereupon, Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency has created a solution for automatic initiation if relevant to particular conditions to improve initiation rate of mediation procedures and passed it through the Assembly plenary session in May, 2016 and promulgated on the 30th of the same month. However, even if mediation procedure initiation rate is increased, there is no guarantee for mediation establishment rate to be improved according to current law. If Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency intends to increase aforementioned value, automatic initiation is not the only solution. Instead, it seems to be a major assignment to identify fundamental reasons for why major health care facilities have not participated in it and to restore reliability on them. In addition, among crimes specified on the Article 268 of Criminal Act in the Article $51^*$ of "Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Malpractive and Mediation of Medical Disputes)", revision must be made so that the clause of clue and death by occupational or gross negligence is applied. Furthremore, it is suggested to supplement previously insufficient policies with the operation so that mediation procedures created by Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency are stably settled in the perspective of medical institutions including the establishment of new conditions for medical institutions founders or health and medical service personnel to claim the proxy payment for damage.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.106-125
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• 2013

Medical litigation, as a method of resolving medical disputes, has been a huge burden on both the patient and medical institution as it is both costly and time-consuming. The Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency has created a dispute mediation process as a method of alternative dispute resolution(ADR). Being in its early stage of implementation, there are still areas requiring improvement as some functions overlap with the Korea Consumer Agency's damage redress and mediation process. This study examines the problems of existing practices in medical litigation while reviewing the mediation process of the two agencies from legal/administrative aspects, and provides an in-depth analysis of the situation through case studies and interviews. While the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency offers many advantages in resolving medical disputes, there must be a distinct division of roles and mutual cooperation with the Korea Consumer Agency. Considering the increasing amount of compensation in medical disputes, medical professionals are being requested to carry medical malpractice insurance. However, this has yet to become a general trend in the medical field despite the growing social demand. As such, the coverage of medical malpractice insurance should be expanded to prevent medical accidents from escalating into medical disputes, thus acting as a social safety net. This study seeks to examine the methods of medical dispute resolution and to allow institutional provisions to reduce the social costs arising from such disputes.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.107-117
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• 2010

In this paper, the researcher looked into major issues in the "Act (Draft) on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation, etc." which was proposed by the Health & Welfare Committee, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and which was pending with the Legislation & Judiciary Committee. Then the researcher pointed out worrisome problems therein and presented suggestion" to improve problematic situations. First of all, the researcher examined the following items which are major points in the aforementioned Act: 1) Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Center, 2) Procedures for mediation and arbitration of medical disputes, 3) Establishment of Medical Injury Compensation Association, 4) Introduction of proxy payment for damages, 5) Compensation for no-fault medical accidents, 6) A system concerned with special cases on criminal punishment. Next, the researcher closely reviewed the following possible issues: 1) Limit of arbitrary mediation, 2) Postponement of the system concerned with special case on criminal punishment, 3) Examination of reasons for rejection, 4) Function and role of the Appraisal department, 5) A possibility of being reduced to an evidence collection procedure for lawsuit, 6) A possibility of no-fault compensation rather than injury compensation, 7) Operational issues related proxy payment for damages. Lastly, the researcher presented suggestions on how to improve each problematic issue.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.163-187
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• 2011

On March 11, 2011, the Korea National Assembly finally passed the bill on the Damage Relief on the Medical Malpractice and Mediation for Medical Dispute. One of the features of this Act is including "The Subrogation Payment System for Damage (abbreviated SPSD)". This System is that 'Korean Medical Dispute Mediation-Arbitration Board' pays the damages, instead of the health care provider, for the patient who isn't paid damages by the health care provider despite of the Mediation or ruling. The purpose of this study is to search the problems and make improvement on SPSD. This System was introduced extreamly to the patients in order to induce them to the mediation. However,there remains several problems. In this articles, I have examined thoroughly the legal issues on SPSD. There are legal issues about the methods and ratio of the financial burden. In this connection, wide discretionary authority has been granted to administrative agencies specifically. On this account, this System clearly contains elements of a violation against the Constitutional Law. Moreover, this System can be broadly applied to the case of court ruling or the Korea Consumer Agency's mediation. But these measures go against the aim of legislation that the medical dispute can be resolved through the mediation or arbitration by this Act. In the end, these problems must be revised through the additional discussion.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.255-288
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• 2015

It is desirable to prevent medical accidents because they bring about irretrievable outcomes to patients, as they are directly related to each patient's life, and health. However, once medical accidents occur, it is appropriate to resolve them quickly without conflict before the feelings of directly involved people are intensely confronted with each other. Korea Consumer Agency carries out medical dispute mediation to address such disputes quickly, fairly, and efficiently, and so does Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. Although there has been constant debate on a merge between the two agencies because of duplicated work and consequent inefficiency, it is desirable to maintain the two agencies to ensure consumers' options and to promote the mutual development of the agencies through competition. Therefore, there should be legal and systematical support for Korea Consumer Agency to have fair competition with Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. This is not for Korea Consumer Agency, but ultimately for consumers.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.139-168
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• 2016

Two alternative dispute resolutions for medical dispute have been operated under the States of German Medical Associations. The first is the medical mediation committee of North german area, the other is the advisory committee on medical errors in North-Rhine area. The former has focused on the mediation itself, the latter commission has focused on the expert review itself whether the physician has maintained reasonable care in diagnosis and treatment. Even though these organizations have maintained under the medical associations, to maintain the neutrality on legal and medical decision, the North German mediation committee is composed of a lawyer and a medicine doctor respectively and North-Rhine advisory committee has a lawyer chair person and four medicine doctors. The main difference of Korean Medical Dispute Mediation Agency in respect from the german system is that expert review is subordinated to the mediation process. The neutrality of expert review is suspected from the medicine doctors. The neytrality and the efficiency should be improved to treat the medical disputes. To do so, lawyer and medicine doctor work together in mediation process and lawyer should manage the expert review process but not involved. Mediation process and expert review should be checked and balanced, and they could be developed as a separated process itself.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.91-122
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• 2014

For a variety of reasons, the number of medical disputes is continuously rising. Due to the intrinsic qualities of medical treatments, one would find it more apt to subject medical disputes to general conflict resolution procedures rather than to once-for-all decisions under legal suits. To address the increasing medical disputes with greater professionalism and efficiency, the Medical Disputes Mediation Act was enacted and a medical dispute mediation system put in place, while drawbacks have been blamed to both. The current mediation procedures require the respondent's agreement as a disclosure requirement. A reasonable improvement to this would be to amend the regulation of agreement supposition, or to enforce procedural participation only to public health facilities managed by the national or regional government. Furthermore, small claims cases of 20 million KRW or less in claim may be considered for conciliation-prepositive principle. The concentration on small claim medical disputes is a phenomenon that can be addressed by carrying out maximum authentication commissions or similar measures, one of the solutions by enhancing the public trust in the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. The proper management of medical authentication teams is one way to address the existing problems in the authentication system. For this, the number of team members shall be increased under more flexible authentication procedures. All indemnity resources for medical accidents of force majeure must be borne by the Government, for it is the body principally responsible for social compensation. Placing this cost on the establisher of the subject medical facility holds the possibility of violating fundamental rights. While the costs for subrogation payment system for damages may be borne by the healthcare facility establisher, a deposit-based system must be created for cases in which the facility shuts down, without holding the responsibility for accident cause. Such change to a deposit-based system will evade the controversies of unconstitutionality, etc.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.185-198
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• 2020

In the event of a medical conflict in South Korea, civil lawsuits can be very complicated, time-consuming, and costly. Under the Medical Conflict Conciliation Act, the mediation system has expanded its function to coordinate disputes between individuals and medical institutions in a more efficient manner prior to litigation. Currently, conflict mediation organizations and legal systems are established in each sector, and the Healthcare Dispute Settlement Commission will also play an important role in the public sector. In this study, the characteristics of the evaluation system of the Korea Institute of Medical Conflict Arbitration are examined; and, by looking at the case of medical examinations, it is proposed to show the mediation system and the manner and role of the examinations. Medical expertise is a very important area of the qualitative standards and expertise of participants because the participants must play a role in medical consultation and appraisal in connection with medical experts.