Hello, this is Attorney Lee Young-kyung from Law Firm Cheongchul.

Article 56, Paragraph 2, Item 2 of the Medical Law prohibits advertisements containing content that may mislead consumers about the effectiveness of treatment, such as patient treatment experiences. Let’s examine what the prohibited 'treatment experience stories and treatment reviews' are, and look at actual cases of violations.

[Question]

What are the treatment experience stories and treatment reviews prohibited by the Medical Law?

[Answer]

1. Legal Basis

As mentioned earlier, elaborating on Article 56, Paragraph 2, Item 2 of the Medical Law, Article 23, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Medical Law stipulates that "advertising that expresses a specific medical institution or medical professional's function or treatment method as necessarily effective for treating diseases or advertising the patient's treatment experiences or clinical careers of less than six months" is prohibited.

2. Basic Principle: Simple visit review posts written by patients are not 'medical advertisements'. However, exceptions should be noted!

It is the principle that simple visit review posts written 'directly' by patients are not considered 'medical advertisements'. In other words, it is difficult to uniformly view postings by a third party sharing their experiences regarding overall satisfaction or friendliness after visiting medical professionals or institutions as acts of medical advertising.

However, if the content of medical acts, medical institutions, and medical professionals provided in a space accessible to an unspecified large number of people is specific and is factually determined or induced by the medical institution, it could be viewed as an act of 'medical advertising'. Moreover, advertising detailed experiences containing specific details about professional medical acts received at a certain medical institution, or outcomes of surgeries could be classified as 'treatment experience advertising that may mislead about treatment effectiveness', which could contravene the Medical Law according to the health authorities (refer to 'Healthy Medical Advertising, Let's Create Together' (2nd edition)).

Furthermore, reviews that are positively written conditionally upon receiving tangible or intangible benefits correspond to the treatment experience advertisements prohibited by the Medical Law, and if economic interests are not disclosed, this may fall under unfair representation or advertising practices as stipulated by Article 3 of the 'Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising' (deceptive advertising practices).

2. Type of Violation ①: Posting treatment experience advertisements to unspecified individuals without login procedures

If only positive treatment experiences are selectively advertised concerning specific experiences received without logging in or any other procedures on the medical institution's website, blog, or social media (YouTube, Instagram) in a manner accessible to unspecified individuals, health authorities consider it a violation of the Medical Law against medical advertising.

This interpretation indicates that content specifically targeted to certain individuals cannot be regarded as 'advertising'. However, if the procedure for logging in is simplified in such a way that it can be done through existing portal site IDs or by issuing temporary IDs, allowing for practical access by unspecified individuals to the posted materials, it should be regarded as medical advertising. Therefore, it is necessary to pre-check whether the registration processes on social media or blog sites fall under the aforementioned content.

3. Type of Violation ②: When phrases indicating sponsorship or cost support are present and medical professionals request positive treatment experience advertisements

If the content of treatment experiences includes phrases indicating sponsorship or cost support where medical professionals or institutions request positive treatment experience advertisements from non-medical individuals, or if treatment experiences posted by non-medical individuals provide detailed information about the medical institution's location, facilities, experience, treatment costs, etc., and appear to induce visits in return for monetary compensation, a detailed fact-finding will determine whether there has been a violation of the Medical Law.

Law Firm Cheongchul provides consulting on medical law and medical advertising to numerous healthcare companies and clinics based on expertise and experience accumulated through large domestic law firms such as Kimjang Law Office, Taeyoung, Gwangjang, Sejong, and Yulchon.

If you work with Cheongchul, we will focus on accurately understanding the essence of the case and achieving optimal results. If you entrust us, we will become a strong support for you.