CONTENTS
- 1. The Client Who Urgently Needed the Help of a Medical Litigation Attorney
- - What Is an Unlicensed-Operator Hospital
- 2. The Daeryun Medical Litigation Attorney's Handling of the Case
- - The Daeryun Medical Litigation Attorney's Argument
- 3. Daeryun Medical Litigation Attorney Defends a Client Against an Unlicensed-Operator Hospital Charge, Resulting in an Acquittal
1. The Client Who Urgently Needed the Help of a Medical Litigation Attorney
The medical litigation attorney's assistance was necessary, and the client came to Daeryun Law Firm.
The client was put on trial on the charge of operating an unlicensed proxy hospital.
The circumstances of the case as described in the legal consultation with the Daeryun medical litigation attorney are as follows.
The client is a medical professional.
While preparing to open a clinic, the client met an acquaintance who operated a medical consulting company.
The acquaintance offered to take charge of matters such as the clinic's interior and personnel, and the client, who needed help at the time, entrusted such work to the acquaintance's medical consulting company.
However, this became a problem.
The client, who had been operating the clinic after opening it, was put on trial on the charge of operating an unlicensed proxy hospital.
The health authorities concluded that the client had lent their name, and accused them to the investigative agency on the charge of operating an unlicensed proxy hospital.
The client, who felt the situation was unfair, came to be in great need of the assistance of a medical litigation attorney.
The client therefore came to Daeryun Law Firm, and the Daeryun medical litigation attorney undertook to provide assistance in order to resolve their unfair situation.
What Is an Unlicensed-Operator Hospital
An office-manager-operated hospital refers to a hospital unlawfully established and operated by a non-medical person who lacks medical qualifications.
Office-manager-operated hospitals appear in such forms as △a non-medical person borrowing the qualifications of a medical professional, △a partnership between a non-medical person and a medical professional, and △the unlawful establishment of a non-profit corporation followed by the opening of an office-manager-operated hospital.
The term "office-manager-operated hospital" arose from the fact that the non-medical person managing and operating the hospital is typically positioned as the office manager.
An office-manager-operated hospital allegation such as the one in the client's case may be punished under the Medical Service Act, the Criminal Act, the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and other laws.
■ Medical Service Act Article 33 (Establishment, etc.)
(2) No person may establish a medical institution unless he or she falls under any of the following subparagraphs. In such cases, a doctor may establish a general hospital, a hospital, a convalescent hospital, a mental hospital, or a clinic; a dentist may establish a dental hospital or a dental clinic; an oriental medical doctor may establish an oriental medical hospital, a convalescent hospital, or an oriental medical clinic; and a midwife may establish only a midwifery clinic.
1. A doctor, a dentist, an oriental medical doctor, or a midwife
2. The State or a local government
3. A corporation established for the purpose of medical practice (hereinafter referred to as a "medical corporation")
4. A non-profit corporation established under the "Civil Act" or a special act
5. A quasi-governmental institution under the "Act on the Management of Public Institutions," a local medical center under the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of Local Medical Centers," or the Korea Veterans Health Service under the "Korea Veterans Health Service Act"
(10) A medical corporation or the like that establishes or operates a medical institution shall not lend the name of its corporation to another person.
■ Medical Service Act Article 87 (Penalty Provisions)
A person who establishes or operates a medical institution in violation of Article 33 (2) shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 100 million won.
■ Medical Service Act Article 87-2 (Penalty Provisions)
(2) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine not exceeding 50 million won:
1. A person who has lent a license in violation of Article 4-3 (1)
1-2. A person who has been lent a license or has arranged the lending of a license in violation of Article 4-3 (2)
■Criminal Act Article 347 (Fraud)
(1) A person who obtains the delivery of property or acquires a pecuniary benefit by deceiving another shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 20 million won.
(2) The same shall apply where a person, by the method described in the preceding paragraph, causes a third party to receive the delivery of property or to acquire a pecuniary benefit.
■ Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes Article 3 (Aggravated Punishment of Specific Property Crimes)
(1) Where a person who commits a crime under Article 347 (Fraud), Article 347-2 (Fraud by Use of Computer, etc.), Article 350 (Extortion), Article 350-2 (Special Extortion), Article 351 (applicable only to habitual offenders under Articles 347, 347-2, 350, and 350-2), Article 355 (Embezzlement and Breach of Trust), or Article 356 (Occupational Embezzlement and Breach of Trust) of the "Criminal Act" obtains, or causes a third party to obtain, property or a pecuniary benefit through such criminal act, and the value thereof (hereinafter referred to as the "amount of profit" in this Article) is 500 million won or more, such person shall be subject to aggravated punishment as follows:
1. Where the amount of profit is 5 billion won or more: imprisonment for life or for not less than 5 years
2. Where the amount of profit is 500 million won or more but less than 5 billion won: imprisonment for a definite term of not less than 3 years
(2) In the case of paragraph (1), a fine equivalent to or less than the amount of profit may be concurrently imposed(倂科).
2. The Daeryun Medical Litigation Attorney's Handling of the Case
Daeryun Law Firm's medical litigation attorneys first formed a dedicated team of 3 to 20 medical litigation attorneys experienced in unlicensed-operator hospital (samujang hospital) cases, to handle the client's case exclusively.
Daeryun's medical litigation attorney team analyzed the case in detail after a thorough legal consultation with the client.
First, the client entrusted work to an acquaintance's medical consulting company and asked their spouse to pay the corresponding fee.
At the time, however, the spouse had money lent to a cousin, and the spouse asked the cousin to transfer the amount corresponding to the fee to the medical consulting company.
The cousin transferred the money to the client's acquaintance as requested, it is reported.
On the basis of these circumstances, the health authorities filed an accusation alleging the operation of an unlicensed-operator hospital.
The Daeryun Medical Litigation Attorney's Argument
The Daeryun LLC medical litigation attorney team defended against the unlicensed-operator hospital allegation against the client with the following arguments.
▶ The compensation paid to the medical consulting firm was, in effect, paid by the client
▶ The cousin of the client's spouse had no connection whatsoever to the establishment or operation of the hospital
▶ The medical consulting firm's involvement in the establishment and operation of the hospital lasted only until the opening
▶ After the opening, the client has been solely responsible for all management and operation of the hospital
3. Daeryun Medical Litigation Attorney Defends a Client Against an Unlicensed-Operator Hospital Charge, Resulting in an Acquittal
The court accepted all of the arguments of the Daeryun medical litigation attorney team and rendered a judgment of acquittal for the client.
The client, who had lawfully established the hospital and operated it in good faith, was thereby able to escape the unjust charge of running a so-called “office-manager hospital.”
The client repeatedly expressed gratitude, stating that without the assistance of the Law Firm Daeryun medical litigation attorney team, they would have suffered from a case that they would not have known where to begin to untangle.
Law Firm Daeryun forms teams of attorneys specializing in each field, including medical litigation attorneys, to establish and carry out litigation strategies promptly.
If you find yourself in an unjust situation due to a case similar to the above, you are welcome to entrust your case to a Daeryun medical litigation attorney.
This content is based on actual case studies of Daeryun Law LLC with some adaptations, and the copyright belongs to our firm.
Unauthorized reproduction, duplication, or distribution and other copyright infringements may result in legal action under applicable laws.
