Additional Fines Cannot Be Imposed for Underestimated Initial Penalty... Court Orders Cancellation of Extra Fine

Court Rules Against Increasing Administrative Fines
for the Same Violation

The court has ruled that even if the first administrative fine is set too low, it is not permissible to impose a second fine for the same case.

According to the legal community on September 1, the 14th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Lee Sangdeok) recently ruled in favor of dentist A in a lawsuit to cancel the imposition of an administrative fine of 199.23 million won by the head of Songpa District Health Center in Seoul.

In 2019, A commissioned an advertising agency for online promotions, recruiting participants for a teeth and gum whitening treatment trial group and having those who received free treatment post positive reviews on blogs. Additionally, A recruited a group of reporters who were paid 10,000 won in cash to post their treatment experiences.

Subsequently, in 2021, a public interest report was filed stating that "advertising treatment experiences constitutes illegal advertising prohibited under Article 56, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 2 of the Medical Service Act." In May 2023, the Seoul Eastern District Court issued a summary order fining A 1 million won, and in September of the same year, the Songpa District Health Center imposed an administrative fine of 15 million won.

However, the whistleblower filed another complaint, claiming that "the violation continued even after the enforcement ordinance was revised to increase the administrative fine." The health center then applied the revised standards and imposed an additional fine of 199.23 million won, which A contested in court.

The court stated, "It is true that there was an error in calculating the first administrative fine too low," but added, "Even if the administrative authority made a factual or legal error resulting in a lower penalty, unless otherwise specifically stipulated, it cannot be changed to the disadvantage of the party concerned."

The court further noted, "The criminal court also regarded all of the posts as a single violation of the Medical Service Act and issued a summary order accordingly," and concluded, "It is not permissible to increase and reimpose an administrative fine for the same violation."