Welfare Committee Audit Begins on the 11th... Telemedicine and Nursing Act in Focus

Rebates Issues and Power Abuse Criticism of Pharmaceutical Companies

Starting on the 11th with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the final Health and Welfare Committee audit of the 21st National Assembly will commence. Key topics include telemedicine and the Nursing Act.

The Health and Welfare Committee has summoned 15 witnesses and 33 reference persons for the audit. Among them, six were called regarding the telemedicine issue: Kim Seong-hyun, CEO of Olacare (witness); Go Seung-yoon, CEO of Vibros (Ddokddak) (witness); Kwon Young-hee, President of the Seoul Pharmaceutical Association (reference); Kim Dae-won, Vice President of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association (reference); Lee Jeong-geun, Vice President of the Korean Medical Association (reference); and Jang Ji-ho, CEO of Dr. Now (reference). Including five others summoned as references concerning the issue of online pharmaceutical sales (Kang Seung-hyun and Choi Jae-hwa, CEOs of Bungaejangter; Kim Yong-hyun and Hwang Do-yeon, CEOs of Danggeun Market; and Yoon Ho-jun, CEO of Secondway), the total rises to 11.

On the 24th, at the Health and Welfare Committee plenary meeting held in the National Assembly, Chairperson Jeong Chunsuk is striking the gavel. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has been a recurring topic in the annual audits. In 2021, issues regarding the misuse of narcotics and pharmaceuticals were raised, leading to restrictions on prescriptions of such drugs. Last year, lawmakers sharply criticized illicit practices on telemedicine platforms. The legislative direction for telemedicine shifted toward regulating these platforms. This year, debates are expected to continue over detailed issues for legislation, such as the scope of allowing initial telemedicine consultations and criteria for follow-up visits. Telemedicine transitioned to a pilot project from June to August. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is discussing improvements to the pilot project through meetings of the "Telemedicine Pilot Project Advisory Group."

The Nursing Act, which is a point of sharp contention between the ruling and opposition parties, is also expected to appear in the audit sessions. The Nursing Act was proposed to strengthen nurses' working conditions and clarify their scope of duties in preparation for an aging society. However, controversies arose over nurses opening clinics independently and discrimination against nursing assistants based on educational background. The Nursing Act bill was nullified in May after President Yoon Seok-yeol exercised his veto power. The opposition Democratic Party is showing signs of pushing for the bill’s reintroduction. The ruling People Power Party is expected to argue that instead of enacting a separate law for a specific profession, there should be a review of the legal framework covering medical and care services, including the Medical Service Act.

Additionally, lawmakers are expected to continue their reprimands regarding pharmaceutical companies’ rebate issues and power abuse. An Deok-kwon, CEO of Anguk Pharmaceutical, will appear at the audit due to allegations of providing illegal rebates. Anguk Pharmaceutical produces the oral eye supplement "Tobicom." In August, the Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective orders and a fine of 500 million won on Anguk Pharmaceutical for providing approximately 9 billion won worth of pharmaceutical rebates. The commission determined that Anguk Pharmaceutical annually allocated tens of billions of won in cash as sales staff incentives, which were used as rebates.

The power abuse issue involving Yoon Jae-hoon, CEO of RP Bio and second son of the late Yoon Young-hwan, honorary chairman and founder of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, will also be addressed. Yoon Jae-hoon is the older brother of Yoon Jae-seung, Chief Vision Officer (CVO) of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, who stepped down from his chairman position in 2018 amid controversies over verbal abuse and insults. Allegations have been raised that Yoon Jae-hoon verbally abused, insulted, issued unfair orders, and sexually harassed employees.

Furthermore, Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver (regarding the personal medical information leak via Naver), and Hyun Shin-kyun, CEO of LG CNS (related to the next-generation social security system construction), have also been selected as witnesses.

Meanwhile, the Health and Welfare Committee audit will proceed as follows: on the 11th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare; on the 12th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency; on the 13th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; on the 18th, the National Health Insurance Service and Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. On the 19th, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, National Medical Center, National Cancer Center, Korean Red Cross, Korea Health Promotion Institute, and Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency will be audited. On the 20th, the National Pension Service and Korea Social Security Information Service will be audited, and on the 23rd, the Korea Council on Social Welfare will be audited.