Growing debate in South Korea over traditional medicine

South Korean elderly patients are treated with
acupuncture and moxibustion, in Seoul, South Korea in this Dec. 5, 2008
photo. (AP / Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Nam-soo has stuck needles
into generals, actors, tycoons and at least one president for more than
six decades as South Korea's acupuncturist to the stars.

Grateful patients say his treatments combining acupuncture with the
ancient practice of burning herbs on the skin do as much good, or more,
as Western medicine in treating everything from arthritis to diabetes,
burns and even cancer.

But Kim shut his practice down in late 2008 amid a dispute with South
Korea's powerful medical establishment, which says he's not licensed to
administer moxibustion. On Thursday, the constitutional Court narrowly
sided with the medical board and rejected a petition seeking to allow
longtime traditional medicine practitioners such as Kim to ply their
trade as licensed therapists.

The case involving the nation's most-famous acupuncturist has brought
attention to the growing calls to ease restrictions on alternative
medical remedies.

Kim, 95, received his license to administer acupuncture, the ancient
remedy of inserting needles into the body to stimulate the circulation
of blood and the flow of energy, in the early 1940s when Korea was ruled
by Japan.

Over the years, Kim became famous for complementing acupuncture with
moxibustion, a popular technique that involves placing smouldering herbs
on acupuncture points. Many consider moxibustion a relatively easy
remedy that some people do on their own at home.

Among his clients: Kim Jae-kyu, the ex-intelligence chief who
assassinated then-President Park Chung-hee, a former army general who
ruled South Korea with an iron-fist for 18 years, at a party in 1979.

He recalled that he was summoned for a top secret appointment in the
1990s to treat then-President Kim Young-sam for a torn calf muscle
sustained while jogging.

"After getting my acupuncture, he was OK -- and called me the 'one-shot acupuncturist,"' he told The Associated Press.

He said he also nursed Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon back
to health when the preacher was injured in a helicopter crash in 2008.

Kim may be skilled at acupuncture and moxibustion, but he was
practicing illegally because he doesn't have a license to administer
moxibustion, the Korean Oriental Medicine Association in Seoul said.

"Likewise, you might find that a man can drive a car well even if he
doesn't have a driver's license, but that doesn't make it legal," said
Kim In-bum, vice-president of the medical association.

In South Korea, graduates of Oriental medical schools who pass
government-run exams and about 40 remaining colonial-era therapists are
licensed to practice both acupuncture and moxibustion. Kim Nam-soo is
only licensed for acupuncture.

His popularity, despite operating illegally, has won him some enemies
among some licensed practitioners who call him a glory-seeker who
inflates his skills and accomplishments.

In late 2008, the Seoul government imposed a 45-day ban on Kim's
medical activities in response to two complaints, including one
reportedly filed by a licensed practitioner.

Kim closed his doors in protest, and one of his students appealed to
the constitutional Court for the right to administer moxibustion even
without a license.

"Why do medical professionals exist? Shouldn't they reduce their
patients' pains by doing whatever they can do?" Kim said. "We may not
have a valid license, but we are still qualified to treat people. Our
skills are something that we can be proud of even on the world stage."

Over the years, the constitutional Court consistently has ruled
against acupuncturists like Kim, typically unanimously. This time,
however, five of the court's nine judges voted against the law, just one
ballot shy of the six-vote requirement to revise it.

The surprise results prompted calls to rethink the law. "It was a
message to the government and parliament on the need to revise the law
to guarantee the people's rights to choose their own medical treatment,"
court spokesman Noh Hee-bum said.

"The constitutional Court's ruling has given the government an
assignment that we hope it will complete: to revise an antiquated law,"
the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial Saturday.

The Ministry of Health said it plans to review the controversial ruling.

The medical association issued a statement expressing "shock" that
five judges ruled against the law, reiterating that only authorized
doctors should perform the treatments.

Kim, buoyed by the ruling, said Friday that he will resume practicing acupuncture and moxibustion.

"If they send me to prison for practicing without a license, I'm
ready to go," he said. "I'll cure patients at prisons with acupuncture
and moxibustion."

Ive seen traditional medicines to pretty amazing stuff. I think the stuck up doctors should be more open minded to it.

There's always a conflict with traditional and modern means of treatment, supposedly supported by science.

Id normally be on the science side, but if seen some native guy from northern Saskatchewan fix my grandpas knee a few years back.

As long as it works, and the whole "natural" idea is appreciated too.

That's what I figure,