Unlicensed Medical Practice Lawyer
Unlicensed Medical Practice Lawyer | What Counts as a Medical Act, and What Happens Next
Under the Medical Service Act, only a person who has obtained a medical license from the Minister of Health and Welfare may perform "medical acts," and anyone else who does so can face criminal prosecution regardless of whether harm actually occurred (의료법 제27조 제1항, 제87조의2). This applies not only to obvious cases like unlicensed clinics, but also to beauty procedures, semi-permanent tattooing, chiropractic-style manipulation, and even licensed doctors or nurses acting outside the scope of their own license. Because the statute does not define "medical act" with precision, whether a specific act qualifies is decided case by case through court precedent, and that single question can determine guilt, sentence, and whether a business can keep operating.
Unlicensed Medical Practice | What the Medical Service Act Actually Prohibits
The core prohibition is simple to state but hard to apply: no one without a medical license may perform a 'medical act.' The following are the recurring categories of disputes that come up in practice.
Only doctors, dentists, oriental medicine doctors, and midwives who hold the relevant license may perform medical acts within their licensed scope (의료법 제27조 제1항). Anyone else performing such an act, even without any resulting injury, satisfies the basic requirement for prosecution. The prosecution does not need to prove actual harm to the recipient.
The Medical Service Act itself does not define 'medical act.' The Supreme Court has instead built a working definition through case law: an act that requires medical expertise to prevent risk of harm to the human body, evaluated by considering the purpose, method, and potential danger of the act. This means borderline acts (e.g. semi-permanent makeup, certain skin procedures, some manual therapies) are litigated individually rather than resolved by a bright-line rule.
A licensed doctor, dentist, or nurse can still be charged if they perform an act reserved for a different type of license (e.g. a general physician performing a dental procedure), or if a nurse performs an act reserved for doctors. These cases turn on whether the specific act fell within the defendant's own licensed scope, not on whether the person held any license at all.
Where unlicensed medical practice is conducted as an ongoing business (e.g. an unlicensed clinic operating continuously, or a chain of unlicensed procedure shops), courts tend to treat this more severely than an isolated incident, and prosecutors more often pursue detention or higher fines rather than a simple summary indictment.
Exceptions that are frequently misunderstood
Not every hands-on service involving the body is a medical act — general skin care, basic massage, and simple beauty services performed with common tools are generally treated as outside the Medical Service Act. However, the line shifts depending on the tools used (e.g. needles, lasers, certain chemical peels) and the claims made about the service, so a practice that seems similar to a lawful beauty service can still cross into unlicensed medical practice.
Unlicensed Medical Practice | Whether the Act Actually Qualifies as a 'Medical Act'
Because the statute does not define 'medical act,' this is almost always the first and most contested issue in these cases. The outcome depends heavily on the specific technique, tools, and context.
The three-factor test courts actually use
Courts weigh (1) the purpose of the act — diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease versus pure cosmetic enhancement, (2) the method used — whether it involves piercing skin, chemicals, or specialized equipment, and (3) the degree of health risk if performed by someone without medical training. No single factor is decisive on its own, which is why similar-looking services (e.g. two different semi-permanent eyebrow techniques) can be treated differently.
Common flashpoints: semi-permanent makeup, acupuncture-adjacent services, IV therapy
Semi-permanent makeup and tattooing that penetrate the dermis have repeatedly been found to be medical acts because of infection and scarring risk, even though many operators market them as 'beauty services.' Similarly, needle-based manual therapies marketed as 'non-medical acupuncture' and unlicensed IV or injection services are frequent subjects of prosecution because they involve breaking the skin barrier.
Why this determination decides the whole case
If the act is found not to be a medical act, the charge fails entirely regardless of who performed it or how often. Conversely, if it is found to be a medical act, the absence of any injury to the client does not help the defendant, because the offense is complete once the act itself is performed without a license (의료법 제27조 제1항).
Unlicensed Medical Practice | Criminal Penalties and Administrative/Health Insurance Fallout
Unlicensed medical practice carries both a criminal track and, for licensed professionals, an administrative track — and the two can move on separate timelines with different consequences.
Criminal penalties under the Medical Service Act
A person who performs a medical act without a license is subject to imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won (의료법 제87조의2 제2항 제2호). Actual sentencing depends on scale, duration, whether any client was harmed, and whether the conduct was a one-off incident or an ongoing business.
Confiscation of proceeds and equipment
Courts frequently order confiscation or additional collection of the profits earned from unlicensed medical practice, and equipment used in the offense (needles, devices, chemicals) may also be seized as evidence or subject to confiscation, separate from any fine imposed.
License-holder exposure: administrative sanctions on top of criminal liability
If the defendant is a licensed doctor, dentist, or nurse who acted outside their licensed scope, a criminal conviction typically triggers a separate administrative disciplinary process by the health authority, which can result in suspension or revocation of the medical license — independent of, and often following, the criminal case outcome.
National Health Insurance recoupment risk for clinics
Where unlicensed practice occurred inside a nominally licensed clinic (for example, non-medical staff performing procedures billed as if a doctor performed them), the National Health Insurance Service can separately claw back reimbursements already paid, which is a financial exposure independent of the criminal fine.
Unlicensed Medical Practice | What a Defense Actually Focuses On
Because guilt turns so heavily on the 'medical act' classification, defense work concentrates on the specific facts of the technique used and the context in which it was performed, rather than on generic mitigation.
Challenging the medical-act classification with technical evidence
Where the technique is genuinely borderline, the defense gathers technical materials — the depth of skin penetration, the composition of substances used, comparable precedents involving similar techniques — to argue the specific act performed does not meet the case-law definition of a medical act.
Distinguishing a single incident from an ongoing business
Because sentencing severity is closely tied to scale and duration, documenting that the conduct was isolated or that it stopped promptly once a complaint arose can materially affect whether the case proceeds to indictment, summary indictment, or is resolved with a lower fine.
Coordinating the criminal case with a pending license disciplinary matter
For licensed professionals facing both prosecution and an administrative disciplinary review, timing and framing in the criminal case can influence the parallel administrative outcome, so the two matters are usually handled with a single coordinated strategy rather than independently.
Unlicensed Medical Practice | From Investigation to Case Resolution
Review the specific technique or act at issue, the evidence already gathered by investigators (client statements, photos, equipment seized), and whether a summons has already been issued.
Prepare a written statement or attend questioning with counsel present, focusing on the factual details relevant to whether the act qualifies as a medical act and the scale/duration of the conduct.
Depending on severity, the prosecutor may issue a summary indictment (fine only, no court appearance), a regular indictment for trial, or a non-indictment/deferred decision if the classification as a medical act is weak.
If indicted for trial, the case proceeds with argument over the medical-act classification, scale of conduct, and any harm caused; sentencing submissions address mitigating circumstances such as first offense or immediate cessation.
For licensed professionals, the health authority's disciplinary review typically follows the criminal case's conclusion, and preparing for both tracks together helps avoid inconsistent findings.
Unlicensed Medical Practice | How Fees Are Typically Structured
Set based on the investigative stage the case is at (pre-summons, post-summons, or post-indictment), the complexity of the medical-act classification issue, and whether expert technical evidence needs to be gathered.
If applicable, generally tied to a favorable disposition such as non-indictment, summary fine disposition instead of trial indictment, or a suspended sentence rather than a fine or imprisonment; details are agreed in advance and not linked to promising a specific outcome.
Covers costs such as obtaining expert opinions on the technique or substances used, transcription of investigative records, and travel for hearings outside the retained attorney's usual venue.
Where both a criminal case and a license disciplinary proceeding are pending, fee structure is typically discussed separately for each track, since they involve different procedures and evidence.
※ Costs vary depending on case complexity and specific circumstances; exact fees will be provided during consultation. No specific outcome is guaranteed.
Unlicensed Medical Practice | Self-Check Before Your Consultation
1️⃣ For unlicensed operators (beauty shops, semi-permanent makeup, manual therapy)
- Does your service involve breaking the skin (needles, blades, lasers, chemical peels)?
- Have you received a summons, a police visit, or a civil complaint from a client?
- Was the service marketed with any claim of treating a medical condition?
- Has any client reported infection, scarring, or other physical harm?
2️⃣ For licensed doctors, dentists, or nurses accused of acting outside scope
- Is the specific procedure at issue clearly within or outside your license category under the Medical Service Act?
- Has the health authority already opened a separate disciplinary file in addition to the criminal referral?
- Did another licensed professional (e.g. supervising doctor) authorize or instruct the act?
- How long has this practice been ongoing, and is there a paper trail (charts, consent forms)?
3️⃣ Evidence and scale assessment
- How many clients or incidents are involved, and over what time period?
- What equipment or substances were seized, and do you have documentation of their composition or source?
- Is there a prior conviction or administrative sanction for a similar issue?
- Did you stop the conduct voluntarily before or after being contacted by authorities?
