Assemblyman Kim Won-i, 686 Medical Sexual Crimes Reported in the Last 5 Years

90% of Rape and Sexual Assault Cases... Medical License Still Maintained

"Legislation Must Be Amended Quickly to Ensure Punishment at the Level of Public Common Sense"

Won-i Kim, Member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Kim Won-i, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and National Assembly member for Mokpo City, Jeonnam, there have been 686 cases of sexual crimes committed by doctors over the past five years.

According to Representative Kim Won-i on the 28th, sexual crimes by doctors, which numbered 114 cases in 2015, steadily increased each year, reaching 163 cases in 2018, and there were 147 cases last year. Among the types of sexual crimes committed by doctors, rape or forced molestation accounted for 613 cases, representing 89.4% of the total, while illegal filming also occurred in 62 cases (9.0%).

Under the current Medical Service Act, medical professionals such as doctors can retain their medical licenses if the sexual crimes they commit, such as sexual assault or illegal filming, are not related to medical practice.

In the past, medical licenses were revoked if a doctor received a prison sentence or higher for sexual crimes or violent crimes, but since the Medical Service Act was amended in 2000, violations of laws unrelated to medical practice do not affect medical licenses. The criminal records of doctors who commit sexual crimes are also not disclosed.

Efforts to improve this have been continuously made in the National Assembly, but progress has stalled due to opposition from medical organizations.

Representative Kim Won-i stated, “The current law that allows doctors to retain their licenses despite committing violent crimes is an excessive privilege for a specific group,” and added, “Since bills to strengthen punishment for criminal doctors have already been submitted to the 21st National Assembly, I will take the lead in amending the law to meet the common sense standards of the public.”