Professor Minjung Kim (Law School)'s book 'Medical Law' (Shinron-sa) was selected as an Excellent Academic Book of 2012 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The book, published last year with a writing encouragement research grant from Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), was written to narrow the perceptual gap between physicians and patients on legal issues arising in healthcare.

Today medical practice is not a legal vacuum, and cases in which medical disputes between physicians and patients are resolved through legal means are increasing.

Comprising five chapters and some 500 pages, the book addresses, through topics such as the legal relationship between physicians and patients, liability for medical negligence, physicians' duty to explain, and medical malpractice litigation, the detailed legal responsibilities and limits related to medical disputes.

In particular, it provides valuable case law not only on classical areas such as physicians' duty of care and duty to explain, but also on new and sensitive issues such as withdrawal of life‑sustaining treatment and refusal of blood transfusion.

It also offers an academic and practical starting point for finding common ground on medical disputes in a reality where advances in medical standards and expanded scope can give rise to new legal challenges.

The author, Professor Minjung Kim, graduated from the Department of Law at JBNU, earned a master's degree at JBNU's graduate school and a doctorate at the University of Göttingen in Germany, and currently serves as a professor at the Law School. An exchange professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Freiburg, he is the author of works including 'Law School: Law of Obligations—Torts'.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism evaluated 4,176 academic books published domestically during the one-year period from March 1 last year to February 29 this year. A panel of 71 judges composed of scholars and experts from various fields conducted a fair review over about 50 days and selected a total of 312 excellent academic books.

The Ministry will allocate KRW 3 billion to purchase approximately 150,000 copies of the selected books and distribute them to about 1,000 locations, including public libraries, overseas cultural centers, and correctional facilities, in order to support reading among underprivileged groups in connection with the '2012 Year of National Reading'.