Unlicensed Medical Practice Lawyer | What Counts as a Medical Act, and What Happens Next

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.

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

Unlicensed Medical Practice | How Fees Are Typically Structured

※ 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

Frequently Asked Questions

Official References

• Korea Law Information Center — https://www.law.go.kr
• Easy-to-Find Everyday Legal Information — https://easylaw.go.kr
• Korea Legal Aid Corporation — https://www.klac.or.kr