The current supplementary issue of the Journal of Korean Medical Science includes official guidelines of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) for doctors of all medical disciplines to assess existence and extent of physical or mental impairment or disability in Korea. The KAMS organized a committee in association with the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in 2007, and the committee reviewed present status of assessment criteria of physical or mental impairment or disability. The impairment and disability were categorized into 15 items and the individual item was reviewed and discussed by 5 to 10 Korean professional experts. Those experts finally agreed to recommend the KAMS guideline as the standard reference for doctors to assess physical or mental impairment or disability of their patients.