Medical disputes are not limited to medical accidents or related violations of the Medical Service Act, but can include various disputes related to medical activities, such as the investigation of the truth regarding medical accidents that occur in the field, administrative disputes related to the operation of hospitals and clinics, and employment disputes due to the special nature of hospitals and clinics.

First of all, any dispute related to medical activities may lead to civil and criminal litigation for the reason of medical accidents, or mediation procedures before the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency.

Dispute procedures related to medical activities usually take either one of the following forms:

In addition to simple medical accidents, disputes related to medical activities may include various issues, including matters caused by post-modification or correction of medical records, punishment due to false preparation of a medical certificate, error in diagnosis, denial of medical care, and behaviors by medical staff or assistants other than doctors, such as nurses or radiologists.

Next, hospital administrative disputes related to the operation of hospitals and clinics include various disputes, such as issues related to personal information protection (an area where hospitals and clinics should be careful), issues related to an office manager's partnership with non-medical professionals, or issues related to medical advertising or non-benefit medical expenses.

Meanwhile, in some cases, the imposition of administrative sanctions or administrative punishment on hospitals and clinics for violating the Medical Service Act or other medical-related laws should be deemed as disputes related to hospital administration.

An administrative disposition on a hospital or clinic is mainly imposed through the following steps:

Various disputes may arise in connection with medical device companies, ranging from issues related to medical device salespeople’s attendance in the operating rooms or participation in medical activities which may lead to human problems in the field, to issues related to rebates, performance and quality of a medical device which may arise out of the medical device itself, or matters related to permit/license of medical devices.

As a result, many medical device companies have recently developed efficient countermeasures or guidelines to improve their understanding of medical-related laws and prevent potential risks. In addition, in the event of a dispute, they prevent or minimize the occurrence of losses by taking preemptive measures or adopting an active defence strategy, unlike in the past.

The medical institution-related laws that medical device companies should pay attention to are as follows:

• ACT ON SPECIAL MEASURES FOR THE CONTROL OF PUBLIC HEALTH CRIMES
• FRAMEWORK ACT ON HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES
• EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE ACT
• RULES OF ADMINISTRATIVE DISPOSITION RELATED TO MEDICAL SERVICES
• MEDICAL DEVICES ACT, its ENFORCEMENT DECREE, and its ENFORCEMENT RULE
• MEDICAL SERVICE TECHNOLOGISTS, ETC. ACT
• MEDICAL SERVICE ACT, its ENFORCEMENT DECREE, and its ENFORCEMENT RULE
• ACT ON REMEDIES FOR INJURIES FROM MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND MEDIATION OF MEDICAL DISPUTES
• PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION ACT　
• NARCOTICS CONTROL ACT
• ACT ON THE AGGRAVATED PUNISHMENT, ETC. OF SPECIFIC ECONOMIC CRIMES　
• SPECIAL ACT ON PREVENTION OF INSURANCE FRAUD
• MONOPOLY REGULATION AND FAIR TRADE ACT

In recent years, not only have hospitals gradually increased, but also branch hospitals are being opened in various regions, so lawsuits related to hospital expansion and hospital partnership agreements are increasing.

It is necessary to prevent disputes in advance by receiving legal advice related to the establishment, expansion and operation of hospitals.

The legal services provided by the law firm Siu in connection with the establishment, expansion, and operation of hospitals are as follows:

• Providing legal advice related to the establishment of a clinic or hospital and administrative procedures
• Providing comprehensive consulting in collaboration with experts in each field related to the establishment of clinics and hospitals (tax, insurance, medical devices and medicines, construction and interior, marketing, etc.)
• Preparing or reviewing contracts related to joint establishment or joint operation of hospitals
• Providing legal advice and preparation of contracts related to hospital takeover or hospital transfer

• Providing legal service for a Korean medical device exporter in connection with the execution of the Vendor Agreement between the Korean medical device exporter and the U.S intermediary service provider
• Providing legal advice for large specialized hospitals located in Changwon on issues related to joint venture contracts and agreements
• Representing large domestic insurance companies in a number of civil litigation cases for damages related to medical malpractice
• Representing a domestic hospital in connection with a claim for damages (medical) filed by its patient claiming a medical accident　
• Representing a dentist in connection with a request for a provisional disposition to prohibit access by its patient, and a case of an accusation causing business interruption and defamation by its patient
• Representing for a case related to the violation of the Act on Special Measures for the Control of Public Health Crimes (Illegal medical staff) at the Busan Eastern District Court
• Performing cases related to violations of the Medical Service Act at the Busan Eastern District Court
• Providing legal advice services to dermatology in connection with the recognition of injury under the Medical Service Act
• Providing legal advice services to orthopedic hospital in connection with the recognition of interruption of medical care under the Medical Service Act
• Providing legal advice services on whether medical companies provided rebates in violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act
• Providing many medical device companies with legal advice services on the laws related to medical devices