Original article in Korean is at this link.

A doctor in his 40s who sexually assaulted a female patient while she was under conscious sedation for an endoscopy in Tongyeong in Gyeongsangnam-do in June of 2007 was sentenced to five years in prison after an appeal. The Korean Medical Association (대한의사협회) suspended his membership for three years. Upon release from prison, the doctor began practicing medicine in a different region. The current law on medical care (의료법) lacks any provision for revoking the licenses of doctors who commit sexual assault.

With the furor over the case in which three medical students at Korea University molested a fellow student, there have been increasing calls to amend the law on medical care, which has no provision for revoking the licenses of doctors who commit sex crimes. The reasons are the danger of future crimes and the worries of patients who won’t want to be treated by them. It appears that the medical profession will oppose this change as “extreme”.

According to prosecutors, the number of doctors arrested for sex crimes has increased from 35 in 2006 to 40 in 2007 and 48 in 2008. Also, the Korean Institute of Criminology (한국형사정책연구원) published a report in February of 2008 which found that 50% of sex offenders commit new crimes.

There are increasing calls to amend the current law on medical care, which has no provision for revoking the licenses of doctors who commit sex crimes. National Assembly Representative Gang Gi-jeong of the Democratic Party proposed a bill to revoke the license of the doctor who committed the 2007 crime and remove provisions in the law that prevent the revocation of licenses, but it was defeated by the opposition of the medical profession.

Last January Representative Kim Chun-jin of the Democratic Party introduced a bill to amend the law on medical care to allow the revocation of the licenses of doctors who commit sex crimes. Prosecutors supported the bill, saying that “there are not only fears for the safety of patients, but also there is problem of mis-harmonization with other professions such as lawyers.”

The medical profession took the stance that “we sympathize with the goals of the proposal but oppose these changes.” Their reason was the contention that the revocation of licenses is too extreme a punishment. The Korean Hospital Association (대한병원협회) wrote in opposition in January that “when physicians commit sex crimes while carrying out medical care, current criminal law and its punishments for sex offenders are sufficient” and opposed the revocation of licenses.

A large number of internet users have written that “I would refuse to be treated by a doctor who had committed a sex crime.” After just four days, a petition on the discussion site Daum Agora titled “we demand the expulsion of the KU medical students who committed molestation” had attracted over 10,000 names. One user, who claimed to be a female doctor working in the Sojae area of Seoul, wrote that “as a patient and a doctor I oppose them becoming doctors… if it is just covered up I will be unable to stay still.”

This reminds me of the teacher’s union that opposed firing teachers who committed sex crimes. Is it just about flexing their political muscle, or do they really believe that people who exploit their professions to commit sex crimes should keep their jobs?