Foreign national sentenced to prison for unlicensed practice of traditional Korean medicine
Published: 22 Dec. 2025, 09:45
Updated: 22 Dec. 2025, 18:41
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A foreign national who posed as a traditional Korean medicine doctor and administered acupuncture treatments has been sentenced to prison.
The Seoul Southern District Court on Dec. 12 sentenced the man to one year in prison and fined him 1 million won ($680) for violating the Act on Special Measures for the Control of Public Health Crimes, according to legal sources.
The defendant was charged with performing traditional Korean medical treatments — including acupuncture — at an office in Guro District, western Seoul, despite not being a licensed practitioner. Prosecutors said he had set up treatment beds and medical acupuncture needles at the office to carry out the procedures.
From June to August, the man provided acupuncture and other treatments on 16 occasions over two months, earning a total of 3.17 million won.
The court ruled that the defendant had engaged in medical practice for profit without holding the required license.
Under Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act, only licensed medical professionals are permitted to perform medical procedures, and even licensed practitioners are restricted to treatments within the scope of their certification. Unlicensed medical practice is strictly prohibited.
“The defendant’s unlicensed practice of traditional Korean medicine — including cupping, acupuncture and moxibustion — despite not being a licensed traditional Korean medicine doctor, poses a serious risk to patients’ health and public well-being, making the nature of the crime particularly grave,” said the court.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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