Court Upholds Suspension of Acupuncturist
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A court upheld a treatment suspension imposed on an unlicensed acupuncturist by a provincial government.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruled Wednesday that the Seoul Metropolitan Government order suspending treatments by Kim Nam-soo for 45 days was legally acceptable.
Kim, 94, has made his name though numerous ``successful'' treatments over the past seven decades using moxibustion. His unique skill involves heating acupuncture needles with mugwort herb for various treatments.
Kim is licensed to practice acupuncture, but unauthorized to give moxibustion treatment, said the Association of Korean Oriental Medicine. It also said that Kim should not teach ordinary people the complex method as only professionally trained individuals should practice the art.
The city government suspend Kim's acupuncture license last September. In response, Kim filed a lawsuit.
The court said, ``Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment are different, meaning Kim who doesn't have the license for the latter cannot practice the skill.''