Precensorship on Medical Advertisement

ABSTRACT

Medical advertisement had been prohibited for more than 50 years in Korea. On Oct 27, 2005 the Constitutional Court decided that complete ban of medical advertisement is against the Constitution so that medical advertisement should be permitted with some regulations. According to the decision, the Medical Advertisement Committee was established to precensor the medical advertisements. Doctors, medical institutions and medical corporations can advertise their careers, skills, and instruments after passing censorship of Medical Advertisement Committee. But passing censorship does not justify everything. The Medical Advertisement Committee considers whether the advertisements meet the minimal conditions of the regulatory laws. So the veracity of informations depends on advertiser's responsibility. If the information on advertisement is not scientifically true, the advertiser will be blamed for the falsity even though his advertisement had passed censorship. Also, Medical Advertisement Committee reviews advertisements in newspapers and magazines mainly, not on web pages. So the regulation of advertisements on web pages is carried out indirectly by consumer groups. The medical advertisement has just begun and the freedom of expression needs some trial and error.