South Korea Clarifies Statutory Functions of KAERI Radiation Injury Treatment Hospital

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) announced on August 24 that the National Assembly had passed a partial amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Radiation and Radioisotope Utilization at its plenary session on August 20, incorporating the functions of a radiation injury treatment hospital, along with supporting research and technology development, into the institute's statutory scope of business.

Under the amendment, relevant institutions will provide specialized medical services to individuals who have sustained radiation injuries or are at risk of such injuries. Radiation injury generally refers to health abnormalities in the human body resulting from excessive exposure to radiation. Such injuries may not manifest immediately after exposure; even when early symptoms appear only as skin redness, they can later progress to ulceration, necrosis, and affect the blood or bone marrow systems. Some individuals also require long-term follow-up to monitor for delayed health risks such as cancer.

KAERI stated that radiation injury management is a task requiring long-term medical support, encompassing radiation exposure dose assessment, specialized treatment, rehabilitation, and subsequent health management. Previously, although relevant medical research institutions had been incorporated into the national radiation therapy system, their legal functions for providing specialized radiation injury treatment were not clearly defined. Following this legislative amendment, radiation exposure dose assessment, health consultation, and specialized treatment and rehabilitation for injuries such as radiation burns will be undertaken by relevant medical centers on the basis of precise examinations.

The institute stated that it will advance subsequent development around five tasks—critical care, regenerative medicine, precise dose assessment, long-term healthcare systems, and cooperative frameworks—to complete the functions of the radiation injury treatment hospital.

Lim Il-han, Director of the institute's Medical Research Institute, stated that the establishment of this institutional foundation will help provide systematic support for radiation victims, from initial accident response to specialized treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term health management. The institution will fulfill its role as a national-level specialized radiation medicine organization to protect public life and health from radiation harm.