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 filed a complaint with the Korea Fair Trade Commission, saying the Korean Medical Association Organization (KMA) obstructed Korean medicine doctors from purchasing X-ray equipment. The conflict over legalizing X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors continues.
According to the industry on the 17th, AKOM reported KMA to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) last December on suspicion of violating the Fair Trade Act's prohibition on business associations' anticompetitive conduct. The complaint claims KMA pressured medical device companies last October not to sell X-ray equipment to Korean medicine doctors.
A full bench Supreme Court ruling in Dec. 2022 set things in motion. The Supreme Court held that if a Korean medicine doctor's use of an ultrasound diagnostic device constitutes an auxiliary means of diagnosis, it cannot be deemed a violation of the Medical Service Act. After that, Korean medicine doctors who used X-ray bone densitometers in treatment were acquitted in succession in the first trial in Sept. 2023 and the second trial in Jan. 2025 in Medical Service Act violation cases.
Diagnostic radiation device companies, citing the ruling, held a press conference last October calling for system improvements to allow Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays.
KMA sent official letters to these companies last December. The letters asked them to explain the circumstances and grounds for advocating illegal unlicensed medical practices by Korean medicine doctors, contrary to the ruling. The letters also said, "We will inform KMA's 140,000 members of the Q&A process."
AKOM promptly reported KMA to the FTC. AKOM said it filed the complaint because "the doctors' association is placing direct and indirect pressure on companies to restrict their business activities and hinder market competition."
KMA said, "We have not received an official contact from the FTC at this time," and added, "We will state our position when the subsequent procedures proceed."
KMA has argued that AKOM has been distorting the court's judgment. KMA's position is that, under the current Medical Service Act, X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors constitutes "unlicensed medical practice." Simply put, the courts found it difficult to impose criminal penalties when a Korean medicine doctor used X-rays as an auxiliary tool; they did not determine that full legalization was warranted.
With both sides' positions firmly opposed over X-rays, revising the system is not easy. When a Medical Service Act amendment to allow Korean medicine doctors to use X-rays was introduced in the National Assembly last October, KMA staged protests at the district offices of the lawmaker who sponsored the bill. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has also not stated a separate position on whether to allow X-ray use by Korean medicine doctors.
While both the Korean medicine and medical associations cite the public's right to health and convenience in the debate over legalizing X-rays for Korean medicine doctors, some say it ultimately comes down to interests. The number of domestic medical radiation tests, including X-rays, rose 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 it about each side trying to secure patients?" and added, "Korean medicine doctors want to use a wider variety of medical devices, while doctors, conversely, want to keep it as their own domain as it is."
The FTC did not state a specific position on this complaint. As the FTC has set a goal this year of handling cases from investigation to review within an average of eight months, the AKOM complaint against KMA is also expected to see results within the year.