This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report site at 3:35 p.m. on Mar. 17, 2026.
The Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM) has reported the Korean Medical Association Organization (KMA) to the Korea Fair Trade Commission for allegedly obstructing Korean medicine doctors from purchasing X-ray machines. The conflict over legalizing X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors continues.
According to the industry on the 17th, AKOM filed a complaint with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in December last year, accusing the KMA of violating the prohibition on anti-competitive conduct by business associations under the Fair Trade Act. The complaint claims the KMA pressured medical device companies in October last year not to sell X-ray equipment to Korean medicine doctors.
A full-bench Supreme Court ruling in Dec. 2022 sparked the dispute. The court found that if a Korean medicine doctor's use of an ultrasound diagnostic device serves as an auxiliary means for diagnosis, it cannot be deemed a violation of the Medical Service Act. Subsequently, in cases where a Korean medicine doctor used an X-ray bone densitometer in treatment, the courts also returned not-guilty verdicts in the first trial in Sept. 2023 and the second trial in Jan. 2025.
Based on the ruling, manufacturers of diagnostic radiation-generating devices held a press conference in October last year calling for regulatory changes to allow Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays.
The KMA sent an official letter to these companies the same month. It asked them to explain the circumstances and grounds for advancing claims that, contrary to the ruling, condone illegal unlicensed medical practice by Korean medicine doctors. It also said it would inform 140,000 KMA members of the Q&A process.
AKOM then reported the KMA to the FTC. AKOM said the reason for the report was that "the doctors' group is placing direct and indirect pressure on companies to restrict business activities and hinder market competition."
The KMA said, "We have not yet received an official contact from the FTC," adding, "We will state our position when the procedures proceed."
The KMA has argued that AKOM has been distorting the court's judgment. The KMA maintains that under the current Medical Service Act, X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors constitutes "unlicensed medical practice." In short, the courts found it difficult to impose criminal punishment when Korean medicine doctors used X-rays as auxiliary tools; they did not deem it full legalization.
With both sides holding firm over X-rays, revising the system is not easy. When an amendment to the Medical Service Act to allow Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays was introduced in the National Assembly in October last year, the KMA staged protests at the district offices of the bill's lead sponsor. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has also not issued a separate position on whether to allow X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors.
While both the Korean medicine and medical groups cite public health rights and convenience in the debate over legalizing X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors, some say it ultimately comes down to vested interests. The number of domestic medical radiation examinations, including X-rays, increased about 2.5 times from 1.6 billion in 2007 to 3.9 billion in 2023.
A person surnamed A who runs a medical device dealership said, "Isn't each side trying to secure patients?" adding, "Korean medicine doctors want to use a wider variety of medical devices, while doctors, conversely, want to keep the status quo as their own domain."
The FTC did not provide a specific position on the report. As the FTC has set a goal this year to complete cases within an average of eight months from investigation to review, a result in AKOM's complaint against the KMA is expected within the year.