The National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday agreed to send the so-called “Good Samaritan Act (Amendment to the Emergency Medical Care Act),” to the parliament’s plenary session.
The revision bill aims to exempt doctors’ criminal responsibility when providing medical assistance in emergencies.
The amendment to the Emergency Medical Care Act was proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Shin Hyun-young and Jeon Hye-sook.
Under the current law, if there is no gross negligence, a person is exempt from bearing civil or criminal liability for damages or personal injury caused by providing medical care or first aid to an emergency patient.
However, if the emergency patient dies, the person who provided the emergency treatment only receives reduced criminal liability, which means they may face a lawsuit due to their actions.
For example, a family medicine doctor was sued for allegedly missing the timing to treat a woman who died due to an allergic reaction to a honey bee acupuncture procedure conducted at an oriental medicine clinic in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, in 2018.
The woman in her 30s, who received bee acupuncture, suffered from anaphylaxis shock almost immediately after the treatment.
As the woman’s condition worsened, the Oriental medicine practitioner sought help from the family medicine doctor working at an office next door. The doctor reportedly performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient until paramedics arrived.
However, the patient died a few days later.
The woman’s family soon took legal action against both the oriental medicine practitioner and the family medicine doctor who helped the patient get first aid.
The family claimed that the family medicine specialist was at fault as he did not administer epinephrine within four minutes and was, therefore, negligent in fulfilling the correct treatment.
While the family medicine doctor was exonerated in 2020, the case brought about a heated discussion among doctors on whether they should help those in health emergencies outside the workplace.
Rep. Shin and Jeon pointed out that they came up with the bill as they saw an increased risk of people passively responding or avoiding medical treatment despite being able to help emergency patients.
Good Samaritan Laws in other countries
While Korea is moving to exempt criminal responsibility for helping those in emergency health situations, some countries worldwide have more strict laws where people can face punishment if they avoid providing medical assistance to those in health emergencies.
Several countries have regulations to punish "Bad Samaritans" who do not fulfill their duty to rescue. In Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Romania, those that fail to provide appropriate care in emergencies can receive imprisonment for up to three months, in the Czech Republic six months, and in Germany, Greece, and Hungary a year.
Notably, even in North Korea, a person who neglects a patient in danger of death by failing to notify the relevant agency or not providing adequate help can be sent to a reform labor camp for less than two years.