'Force Majeure Delivery Medical Accident' National Compensation Raised from 30 Million to 300 Million Won

Ministry of Health and Welfare Announces Legislative Notice for Partial Amendment to the Medical Dispute Mediation Act

State responsibility for unavoidable childbirth medical accidents will be significantly strengthened. Compensation for victims will be increased from a maximum of 30 million KRW to 300 million KRW, and the scope of cases eligible for the simplified mediation system will be expanded from 5 million KRW to 10 million KRW to activate the system.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 24th that it will give prior legislative notice until December 3rd for the revision of the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the "Act on Relief of Medical Accident Victims and Mediation of Medical Disputes," which includes these measures.

According to the revision, the compensation limit for unavoidable childbirth medical accidents will be raised from a maximum of 30 million KRW to up to 300 million KRW. The National Assembly is currently reviewing the increase in compensation, and the increased compensation will be applied starting July next year. Previously, the funding for compensation was shared between the state and childbirth medical institutions at a ratio of 70 to 30, but since December last year, the state has been covering 100%. Detailed matters such as types of compensation, compensation amounts, and payment methods (including installment payments) will be stipulated by official notice.

To strengthen the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s responsibility for unavoidable medical accidents, regulations regarding the committee have also been revised, including the formation of a compensation review committee by the Minister of Health and Welfare.

Additionally, to activate the simplified mediation system, which is effective for the prompt relief of medical accident victims, the scope of eligible small-amount cases has been expanded from 5 million KRW to 10 million KRW. According to the Ministry, as of July this year, the average processing time for accidents under the general mediation system is 82.7 days with a mediation success rate of 70%, whereas simplified mediation cases are processed in 26.6 days on average with a 100% success rate.

Following the Constitutional Court’s decision of constitutional inconsistency and the amended "Medical Dispute Mediation Act," detailed provisions on the calculation standards and review criteria for the advance payment burden amount, which are delegated by law, have been specified in subordinate legislation. The advance payment system is a system where the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency pays the compensation first when the medical accident victim has not received damages, and then recovers the amount from the liable party.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to finalize the revision after collecting opinions during the legislative notice period. Related opinions can be submitted to the Ministry’s Medical Institution Policy Division or the Participatory Legislation Center by December 3rd.