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Korean Law Demystified!

Korean Court Rules Proxy Prescription for Suicidal Patient Was a ‘Justifiable Act’

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Court: Seoul Southern District Court
Case No.: 2025고단1
Decision: Not Guilty

Background

  • A psychiatrist (Dr. A) was charged with violating the Medical Service Act for issuing a prescription without directly examining the patient.

Facts of the Case

  • September 20, 2022:
    • Dr. A personally examined patient B, an elderly person suffering from depression.
  • September 22, 2022:
    • Patient B did not visit the hospital.
    • Instead, B’s daughter (C) visited the hospital and told Dr. A that B’s depressive symptoms had not improved.
  • Dr. A issued a prescription in B’s name through the daughter without seeing B in person.
    • The medications included:
      • Milta tablets (antidepressant)
      • Hanlim Aripiprazole (antipsychotic medication)
  • While the daughter was at the hospital, B attempted suicide by jumping from the residence and died.

Legal Issue

  • Under Korean medical law, doctors must normally examine the patient directly before issuing a prescription.
  • Therefore, the prosecution argued that Dr. A’s proxy prescription constituted an illegal act.

Court’s Ruling

The court acquitted Dr. A, ruling that the act qualified as a justifiable act under Article 20 of the Criminal Act, meaning the illegality of the act was negated.

Court’s Reasoning

The judge found that all elements of justifiable conduct were satisfied:

  1. Legitimate Purpose
    • Dr. A believed the patient was in a potentially imminent self-harm situation based on information from the daughter.
  2. Appropriate Means
    • The doctor had personally examined the patient two days earlier.
    • Issuing the prescription was a reasonable medical response to worsening symptoms.
  3. Balance of Legal Interests
    • The act did not improperly endanger the patient’s health.
    • It was not done for convenience or to undermine the reliability of prescriptions.
  4. Urgency
    • The patient was elderly, depressed, and at risk of self-harm.
    • The daughter sought the prescription during an urgent situation.
    • The patient actually attempted suicide at that time.
  5. Necessity (No Other Practical Means)
    • The patient refused or was unable to visit the hospital.
    • It would not be realistic to require the doctor to bring the patient in first before prescribing.

Outcome

  • Dr. A was acquitted.
  • The court held that the prescription was a justified act performed to protect the patient despite technically violating procedural rules.

Legal Significance

This decision shows that Korean courts may override strict medical procedural rules when:

  • the doctor acted to protect the patient,
  • the situation involved immediate danger, and
  • the doctor had recently examined the patient.

In legal terms, the act remains technically unlawful under the Medical Service Act, but its illegality is negated (위법성 조각) because it qualifies as a justifiable act.

Article: https://www.lawtimes.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=217489

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