Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 의료법 2000 [Medical Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2000)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Uilyobeob 2000 [Medical Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2000)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on December 3, 1997, as Decision No. 103 of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended on December 10, 1998, as Directive No. 251 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Supplemented on August 10, 2000, as Directive No. 1693 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER 1. BASICS OF MEDICAL LAW
Article 1
The Medical Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt systems and order in medical activities to develop medical work and serve to protect and promote the people’s health.
Article 2
In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been arranged an advanced medical system relying upon correct public health policy, and the material and technical foundations of the medical sector have also been strongly managed. The State shall consolidate its results accomplished in the medical sector to ceaselessly develop medical work.
Article 3
Medical work in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall be based on complete, universal, and free medical care. The State shall smoothly allocate the benefits of free medical care to the people.
Article 4
The district doctor system is a superior residential health management system that takes responsibility for and assures the people’s health. The State shall correctly decide the district doctor system and raise the responsibility and role of medical workers to thoroughly execute the district doctor system.
Article 5
Strengthening prevention work over illness is a basic guarantee for people’s health promotion. The State shall prioritize prevention in treatment and must normally open up hygiene and epidemic prevention work and environmental protection work to prevent illness in advance.
Article 6
Medical work is important scientific technical work dealing with human lives. The State shall raise the specialization level of medical work and develop medical techniques, and must accept advanced scientific techniques in medical work.
Article 7
Actively accepting traditional medicine is an important way to raise and adopt medical work on a high stage. The State shall correctly combine and develop traditional medicine and new medicine and shall effectively apply traditional treatment methods to treatment work.
Article 8
Medical workers are the direct entities in charge of medical work. The State shall strongly manage the medical worker lineup so that they are devoted to medical activities.
Article 9
The State shall systematically increase investment in the medical sector to modernize their material and technical means, and shall improve and strengthen the provision of materials.
Article 10
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation in the medical field with other countries and international organizations.
CHAPTER II. MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND DIAGNOSIS
Article 11
Medical examination and diagnosis is the first process of medical work. Medical institutions shall accept advanced ways and means to find illnesses early, and must reveal the cause and essence of the illness.
Article 12
Medical examinations shall be done at medical institutions. As necessary, medical examinations may also be done in places such as the workplace or the home.
Article 13
Medical institutions must correctly do medical examinations. Medical examinations shall be done using methods like individual examinations, group examinations, elective examinations, general checkups, specialist examinations, and regular examinations. In cases where medical inspections predict that undesirable results such as death will occur, the consent of the patient or guardian must be received.
Article 14
Medical examination of medical workers shall be regularly done. The medical activities of medical workers whose examinations show infectious disease shall be suspended.
Article 15
Medical institutions must register patients revealed in medical examinations, and must notify the authorities concerned. Institutions that have received notification about examination results must take given measures.
Article 16
Medical institutions must diagnose patients within a fast time period based on scientific inspections. However, in cases where it is difficult to make a diagnosis, the doctors’ committee shall consider it, or a specialist medical institution must be requested.
Article 17
Medical institutions may gather biological tissue and clinical materials from patients for the purpose of a correct diagnosis. In cases where the biological tissue of a patient is gathered, it must be ensured that no severe damage is caused to him or her.
Article 18
Medical institutions must create or introduce diagnostic methods that are effective in patient treatment. Diagnostic methods that have been newly created or sought to be newly introduced must receive the approval of the authorities concerned.
Article 19
Medical institutions must correctly record the determined diagnosis on the patient record. A record of the diagnosis may be done in a foreign language as necessary.
Article 20
A determined diagnosis shall be disclosed to the patient. However, for a diagnosis that can cause a bad influence to the patient’s treatment, it may only be disclosed to the guardian.
Article 21
In cases where a medical institution has discovered signs of infectious disease or signs suspected to be of an infectious disease in a diagnosis process, the authorities concerned must be informed. In these cases, urgent measures must be taken to prevent the spread of infectious disease such as disinfection of the site.
CHAPTER III. PATIENT TREATMENT
Article 22
Patient treatment is important work to fix patients’ illness and recover their health. Medical institutions shall strengthen the collective consultation system and the individual responsibility system in patient treatment, adopt a treatment plan based on the illness state and constitutional nature of the patient, and must treat patients in time.
Article 23
Patient treatment shall be done at medical institutions. As necessary, with the approval of the authorities concerned, patients may also be treated in places such as the workplace or home where the patient is.
Article 24
Patient treatment may only be done by a person with medical worker qualifications. Even if a person has medical worker qualifications, a person not employed at a medical institution may not do medical acts illegally, including patient treatment.
Article 25
Medical institutions must first treat emergency patients. In cases where an emergency patient in the district system requests a medical visit, it must be complied with in time.
Article 26
Medical institutions must inform the patient of the predicted treatment plans. In cases where surgery is predicted, the patient’s consent must be received. However, in cases where it appears that the patient is unconscious, the consent of the guardian must be received.
Article 27
Medical institutions must treat patients using scientifically accepted and permitted methods. Treatments such as tissue grafts, including skin grafts, organ transplants, and artificial organ transplants, must be done after being reviewed for medical adaptation by a doctors’ committee.
Article 28
Medical institutions shall do artificial insemination according to the consideration of a doctors’ committee, and may do medical manipulation to prevent major congenital deformity and genetic illness. In these cases, the medical adaptation must be reviewed.
Article 29
Medical institutions must prescribe medication correctly. However, in cases where it is accepted that a patient’s pain from an illness is acute, approval may be received to prescribe things like narcotic analgesics at more than the designated volume.
Article 30
In cases where technical regulations have been abided by and devotion was applied in doing something like a surgery, but an undesirable result still occurred or there is absolutely no possibility of resuscitating the patient such as due to a state of brain death, his or her medical evaluation and treatment shall be done according to the consideration of a doctors’ committee.
Article 31
Given medical institutions must extensively accept traditional Korean medicine methods such as traditional medicine treatments, acupuncture treatments, moxibustion treatments, and cupping treatments, and natural factors such as mineral waters, thermal springs, and marshland in patient treatment.
Article 32
Medical institutions must correctly draft patient treatment documents such as patient records, medical reports, and prescriptions. The original or a duplicate of the patient treatment documents must be stored until the end of a designated period.
Article 33
Medical institutions must raise responsibility in patient treatment and must warmly look after their standard of life.
Article 34
In cases where a citizen of our country or a citizen of another country who has received medical worker qualifications in another country seeks to do medical activities in our country, he or she shall receive a qualifications certification from the central public health guidance institution.
CHAPTER IV. MEDICAL ANALYSIS
Article 35
Doing medical analysis fairly is a compulsory requirement of scientifically proving a medical accident or the degree of labour capacity loss. Medical institutions and authorities concerned must correctly adopt a medical analysis system and do medical analysis correctly and in time.
Article 36
Medical analysis shall be done in the following cases.
1. In cases where institutions, enterprises and organizations have requested medical analysis, including a supervision and control institution
2. In cases of the notification of a medical institution or a citizens has petitioned for a medical analysis
3. In cases where a reason for a medical analysis has arisen during a medical inspection process
4. In other required cases
Article 37
Medical analysis shall be done at a medical institution. In cases where the institution, enterprise or organization requesting the medical analysis or the petitioning citizen requests it, medical analysis may be done on location.
Article 38
Medical institutions must do medical analysis as designated. Medical analysis shall be done in forms such as biological analysis, corpse analysis, exhibit analysis, or documentary analysis.
Article 39
Given institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must submit a request for medical analysis document to a medical institution. A medical institution that has received a request for medical analysis document must objectively and scientifically analyse the subject for medical analysis. In necessary cases, given workers shall be caused to attend the medical analysis, and things such as a specialist workers’ committee may be organized.
Article 40
In cases where a patient undergoing treatment has passed away in a medical institution, a corpse analysis shall be done. A corpse analysis shall be done with the consent of the guardian. However, a corpse analysis may also be done without receiving the consent of a guardian.
Article 41
Medical institutions must inform the institution, enterprise or organization requesting medical analysis and a petitioning citizen of the analysis results. In necessary cases, a medical analysis document may be issued.
CHAPTER V. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL FOR MEDICAL WORK
Article 42
Strengthening guidance and control for medical work is an important requirement to correctly implement the public health policy of the State. The State shall strengthen guidance and control over medical work in conformity with the requirements of actual development.
Article 43
Guidance over medical work shall be done by the central public health guidance institution under the standardized guidance of Cabinet. The central public health guidance institution shall correctly adopt a guidance system over medical work to normally command and guide medical work.
Article 44
Public health guidance institutions and local political institutions must investigate and guide the medical activities and the provision of materials in the medical sector.
Article 45
Local political institutions and authorities concerned may build, combine, divide, or eliminate medical institutions as necessary. In these cases, the approval of the central public health guidance institution must be received.
Article 46
The State shall determine grades of doctors to develop medical techniques, and a specialist doctor recognition committee shall be organized. The work of determining grades of doctors and organizing a specialist doctor recognition committee shall be done by the central public health guidance institution or the authorities concerned.
Article 47
State planning institutions, labour administration institutions, resources supply institutions, chemical industry institutions, and financial banking institutions must assure in time the labour, facilities, resources, medicine and medical supplies, medical equipment, and funds required for medical work.
Article 48
Medical scientific research institutions and the given education institution must strongly manage the medical scientific research base, must strengthen scientific research to resolve scientific and technical issues arising in the medical sector, and must train technical experts and professionals in the medical sector, including doctors, so that they have good prospects.
Article 49
Supervision and control over medical work shall be done by public health guidance institutions and the given supervision and control institution. Public health guidance institutions and the given supervision and control institution must strengthen supervision and control work over medical work.
Article 50
In cases where medical institutions, facilities, or equipment have been damaged or lost, they shall be restored or the given damage shall be compensated.
Article 51
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens who have caused grave consequences to medical work by violating this law shall have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 14 March 2021