Police have caught 477 people running clinics without proper qualifications in a recent clampdown on medial malpractices, the National Police Agency announced Monday.

Between August and October, authorities came across 707 cases of illegal activities in medical and pharmaceutical industries here. A total of 1,693 people were nabbed, with 20 arrested as of November.

Compared to the previous crackdown, conducted from January to July this year, the number of illegal cases rose by 514, with 1.75 times more people involved.  

According to police, 477 people (28.2 percent) of the illegal activities involved doctors or practitioners without proper qualifications, followed by 323 people (19.1 percent) who illegally requested or claimed treatment bills or pharmacy fees.
Also, 228 people (13.4 percent) were caught illegally manufacturing and selling medicines while 47 people (2.8 percent) were found to have received kickbacks from industry insiders.

Police said they would continue to clamp down on illegal activities in the medical and pharmaceutical industries by operating a year-round task force, as well as by cooperating with regional health centers and related health authorities.

(ddd@heraldcorp.com)