79-Year-Old Man Receiving Money for Acupuncture Without Certification 'Suspended Prison Sentence'

A 79-year-old man who performed traditional Korean medical treatments without a licensed Korean medicine doctor's certificate was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

According to the legal community on the 10th, Judge Jeong Yumi of the Criminal Division 11 at Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Ahn (79), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Control of Public Health Crimes (illegal medical practitioner), to one year in prison, a fine of 2 million won, and a two-year suspended sentence.

Last July, Ahn operated a treatment center in Dangjin-si, Chungnam Province, where he provided traditional Korean medical treatments such as acupuncture, cupping therapy, and bloodletting to visitors using beds and cupping sets. He also recruited paying members under the pretext of teaching "Natural Bloodletting Therapy," performed traditional Korean medical treatments on them, and collected money. It is strictly prohibited by law for non-medical professionals to perform medical treatments.

Judge Jeong stated, "The defendant, despite not being a medical professional, performed treatment procedures that constitute medical acts for profit, and the duration of this business cannot be considered short. Considering the legislative intent of the relevant laws to protect public health, the defendant's guilt cannot be regarded as light." However, she added, "The defendant admitted to the crime, the profits gained were not considered significant, there is no prior record of similar offenses, and considering the defendant's age and other sentencing factors comprehensively."