An anatomy lab at Chungbuk National University's College of Medicine in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, March 25. The government is seeking to prohibit using cadavers for any type of profit, officials said Wednesday. Newsis

The government aims to ban the commercial use of cadavers, following a controversial incident where a donated human body was used in a paid lecture for fitness trainers, according to officials familiar with the matter, Wednesday.

They told The Korea Times that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is preparing a bill to outlaw the use of donated corpses for profit. This follows heightened concerns that the recent incident could further strain an existing shortage of cadavers.

In Korea, cadavers for medical schools are obtained primarily through donations. Individuals can pledge to donate their bodies after death for educational purposes. The ministry is concerned that the recent developments could have a negative impact on decisions by potential body donors.

"The most important thing is to make sure that the goodwill of donors and their families is respected and honored," an official said. "This will be the focus of our efforts for legislation and other necessary administrative rule changes."

The move follows criticism surrounding an educational program offered by a service company in collaboration with professors from the Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy in Seoul.

The firm charged 600,000 won ($433) for the nine-hour program on June 23, through which participants could gain knowledge about the human body from anatomists.

It is still unclear how much money the doctors received from the firm for giving lectures or whether the Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine was directly involved. The case is now under investigation by police, who have found similar cases at other schools.

But those involved in the program are unlikely to be indicted, according to ministry officials. Although the current law clearly defines who is permitted to perform human body dissections, it does not explicitly address regulations regarding observers or whether research involving cadavers can be conducted for profit.

Nevertheless, the ministry has requested medical and dental schools nationwide to suspend any paid lectures or educational programs involving human bodies, pending a solution as officials work urgently to address the issue.

The number of cadavers available for training future physicians has always been insufficient. However, the shortage is expected to worsen, exacerbated by controversies following the government's decision earlier this year to increase the nation's medical school enrollment quota, which necessitates hundreds more cadavers annually. According to the ministry, approximately 1,200 bodies are donated each year.

In addition to banning the use of cadavers for profit, the ministry is considering other policy ideas, such as specifying the range of studies using cadavers and the range of people permitted to take part in them.

In the wake of the incident, lawmakers have also moved to fill legal loopholes.

A bill, proposed by Rep. Park Hae-cheol of the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea and 15 other lawmakers on June 25, aims to prohibit the use of cadavers for profit and also mandates that participants in non-commercial educational programs must obtain the approval of their medical college head.

"Using cadavers for money-making purposes is expected to be prohibited eventually as the idea is supported by both major parties," a health ministry official said.