RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/WPDR/W/10
2 October 2000
(00-3984)
Working Party on Domestic Regulation Original:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Disciplines on Domestic Regulation for Professional Services
Results of Consultation with Professional Sectors
The following communication has been received from the delegation of Korea with the
request that it be circulated to the Members of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation.
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I. SUMMARY
1. Korea has consulted government bodies and local professional associations on the application
of the Disciplines on Domestic Regulations in the Accountancy Sector (“the AccountancyDisciplines”) to other professional services.  The professions which responded to  consultations were
legal services, taxation services, architectural services, and medical, dental and other health-related
professional services.
2. According to the preliminary review, most professional bodies did not oppose to  the
application and extension of the Accountancy Disciplines per se .
3. However, they expressed concern over how to reflect the special feature or conditions facing
individual professions.  They commented that unique nature, goal, or domestic condition of a
profession should be considered.  Some professions were deemed not feasible to become subject to
the Disciplines.
II. COMMENTS
A. L
EGAL SERVICES
4. Lawyers have the obligation to protect the privacy of clients.  This special obligation should
be reflected in the Disciplines, for example, by including a general provision so that "each
characteristic of the professions should be taken into consideration."
B. TAXATION SERVICES
5. Tax laws and provisions of taxation services vary from country to country, developed under
different national backgrounds, making it difficult to find common international rules in this sector.Unlike other countries, the taxation service in Korea is managed separately from the accounting or the
legal service.  This unique  feature, which is only found in Korea and a few other countries, makes it
difficult to apply the Accountancy Disciplines directly to the taxation services in Korea.S/WPDR/W/10
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C. ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES
6. Architectural services  is influenced by the climate, culture, and lifestyles of individual
countries, and thus the licensing system of each country may vary in order to reflect such special
needs and demands.
7. Therefore, the development of multilateral rules on the qualification and licensing
requirements in architectural services should, wh ile fully respecting the international standards
developed by the International Union of Architects (IUA), also consider the differences in the
education and internship system for architects in individual countries.
D. MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
8. Medical professional services include doctors, dentists, oriental medical doctors, pharmacists,
oriental pharmacists, nurses, midwives, etc.  Unlike the accounting sector, which is strictly operated
on a commercial basis, medical services need to take into account social conditions, the governmentwelfare policy, and overall public interest.  It is also inappropriate to apply the provisions on
technological standards in the Accountancy Disciplines to this profession.
9. It should be noted that Korea also has a unique licensing system for oriental medical
profession , which cannot be found in any other countries .  They must receive four-year, high-level
education and pass a national exam in order to get the license.  Since this system is unique to Korea,the international disciplines cannot be applied.
III. CONCLUSION
10. Consultations with the different professions reveal that, even though they have no strong
opinion on the general idea of horizontally extending the Accountancy Disciplines, they are uncertain
of its future implications and possible impact.
11. The consultations also reveal that the professions all have different characteristics and
objective.  There are professions that are unique only to Korea, such as oriental doctors and taxation
services, and there are professions that carry  special obligations to, for example, the public interest
and special responsibilities, such as privacy protection, as in the case of lawyers and doctors.
12. Therefore, as a starting point for discussions, it may be necessary to select professions that
best fit the Accountancy Disciplines with as little modification as possible.  The profession with the
most commercial and international characteristics w ould be natural candidates.  However, this is not
to propose that sectoral disciplines should be developed in all sectors as in the accountancy sector.
The discussion should remain as an exercise, before considering the possibility of expanding the
disciplines to all possible professions.S/WPDR/W/10
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ANNEX
The List of Competent Authorities and Relevant Bodies
1. Legal Services
− The Korean Bar Association
2. Taxation Services
− Korea Association of Certified Public Tax Accountants
3. Architectural Services 
− The Korean Institute of Registered Architects
4. Medical and Dental Services
− The Korean Medical Association
− The Korean Dental Association
− The Association of Korean Oriental Medicine
− The Korean Pharmaceutical Association
− The Korean Nurses Association
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