Nearly 40 percent of medical dispute cases filed in South Korea last year failed to proceed to mediation because hospitals declined to participate. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly 40 percent of medical dispute cases filed in South Korea last year failed to proceed to mediation because hospitals declined to participate, according to new data released Wednesday by the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency (KMDA).
In its annual report for 2024, the agency disclosed that out of 2,089 applications for mediation—most filed by patients or their families—only 1,385 cases (66.8%) advanced to formal mediation. This rate is consistent with the five-year average of 66.6%.
However, when excluding cases that were automatically initiated due to serious outcomes such as death, unconsciousness, or severe disability, the voluntary mediation initiation rate dropped to just 59.9%.
That means hospitals or medical institutions—the primary respondents in these cases—refused mediation in 40% of standard cases, effectively halting resolution efforts.
Despite this resistance, when mediation did proceed, nearly 68% of cases concluded successfully through settlement or arbitration. The average settlement amount reached approximately 8.66 million won ($6,500 USD) per case. Over the past five years, the average success rate of resolved cases has remained steady at 67.2%.
Orthopedics accounted for the largest share of disputes by specialty in 2024, with 432 cases (20.7%), followed by internal medicine (13.8%) and dentistry (12.8%).
Mediation in South Korea is designed to be completed within 90 days of filing, with a possible 30-day extension. The KMDA report highlighted that processing times have improved steadily, falling from 122.7 days in 2020 to just 84.4 days in 2024.
Last year, 1,403 cases required medical evaluation to determine malpractice or causality—a figure aligned with the five-year average of 1,441. Surgical procedures led to the most disputes in Western medicine, implants in dentistry, acupuncture in traditional Korean medicine, and compounding in pharmacy.
The average duration for medical assessments also decreased slightly in 2024 to 58 days, continuing a trend of gradual improvement from the five-year average of 61.5 days.
As South Korea continues to modernize and reform its healthcare system, the KMDA’s findings underscore a key challenge: while the mediation framework is proving efficient and successful when utilized, institutional resistance from medical providers remains a significant barrier to broader adoption.
The issue may draw increasing scrutiny in 2026 as lawmakers and patient advocacy groups push for reforms to make mediation more accessible and binding.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
