[Breaking] Nursing Hospital Accused of Siphoning Benefits from Salt Farm Victims Suspected of Illegal Medical Practices in Cancer Ward

13 Out of 27 Inpatients Engaged in "Fake Hospitalizations"
Specialized Pharmaceuticals Illegally Stored and Administered in Patient Rooms
Two Nurses, Including Pastor Park's Daughter-in-Law, Identified as Ghost Employees
Skincare Massages Disguis

Exterior view of A Nursing Hospital in Samgak-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Min Chanki

Controversy has arisen over allegations that A Nursing Hospital, located in Samgak-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju—which has previously been accused of exploiting laborers from Shinan salt farms and diverting residents’ livelihood benefits and wages—is now colluding with cancer patients to fraudulently obtain insurance payouts through illegal medical activities.

There are calls for a thorough investigation by the authorities as various illegal activities have been uncovered, including manipulation of documents to facilitate "disguised admissions" for nearly half of the patients to claim daily hospitalization benefits, false registration of medical staff, and instances where patients personally manage and administer specialized medicines.

According to a report by The Asia Business Daily on December 24, 2025, A Nursing Hospital in Samgak-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju is currently treating a total of 37 cancer patients. Of these, 10 are outpatients and 27 are hospitalized.

However, it has been confirmed that 13 out of the 27 hospitalized patients are engaged in "disguised admissions." Some of these patients enter the hospital in the morning and return home by evening. In another case, a patient checks in on Friday, is registered as hospitalized over the weekend, and is then discharged repeatedly on Monday.

Application form for outing of cancer ward patients at A Nursing Hospital. The form contains only the name signature, with the date and reason left blank. Provided by reader.

Most insurance companies pay daily hospitalization benefits to cancer patients, leading to suspicions that some have conspired with the hospital to fabricate admissions on paper and fraudulently claim insurance. In fact, evidence of document manipulation has been found at the hospital, such as obtaining patient signatures in advance on outing and leave application forms, with only the names signed and the date and reason left blank.

Specialized medicines found in the refrigerator of a cancer patient's hospital room at A Nursing Hospital. Provided by reader.

It has also been found that patients at the hospital are storing specialized prescription medicines—including oral anticancer drugs, vitamins, and antioxidant injections—in personal refrigerators in their hospital rooms, which is illegal for individuals to possess. The administration and dosage of these drugs must be strictly recorded and monitored due to potential side effects, and by law, hospitals are required to manage them.

Furthermore, the hospital's duty roster is organized to suggest that four nurses and five nurse assistants are working, but it has been revealed that some of these staff are "ghost employees" who are falsely registered despite not actually working.

Reviewing the nursing records of nurse Park, who is registered as a staff member in the cancer ward, shows that unlike other nurses, her records repeatedly note only the following activities: ward rounds, encouraging rest, hydration, and nutrition, maintaining body temperature and encouraging lukewarm water intake to prevent colds, ventilating the ward, walking inside the hospital, and performing safety checks to prevent falls. In contrast, the records of other nurses include details of actual medical procedures performed for patients in poor health. Park is the daughter-in-law of Pastor Park, the hospital’s building owner, and her name has been listed for the same evening shifts in the ward for over three years.

The work records of nurse Park, registered as a staff member in Ward A of the cancer hospital, show the same entries repeated multiple times. Photo provided by reader

A hospital representative stated, "I understand that patients, for their own convenience, fill out and sign the outing and external appointment application forms in advance. Patients do not always submit these applications every time they leave the hospital."

The representative added, "In most female patient rooms, medicines are stored in personal refrigerators, but we have no knowledge of their origin. Nursing staff administer injections when patients request them. Although nurse Park is registered as an employee in the cancer ward, no one has actually seen her working. I also heard that another nurse returned after maternity leave, but I have never seen her, and her name continues to appear on the duty roster, which is suspicious."

There are also suspicions that the hospital is reclassifying non-covered medical services as covered items in order to maximize insurance payouts. It has been confirmed that the cancer ward of A Hospital operates a skin care room and manages individual schedules for each patient. The hospital charges 150,000 won per lymphatic massage session in the beauty salon, but the detailed medical expense statements list these under covered items such as pain treatment.

Another hospital official stated, "When Manager B of the cancer ward brings in new patients, monthly schedules are created that include massages, injections, anticancer treatments, and pain management. Since Manager B's arrival, separate charges have been collected for these services."

Regarding these allegations, a representative of the nursing hospital said, "The allegations raised are not true, and no illegal activities have taken place."

Meanwhile, A Nursing Hospital is under police investigation after evidence emerged that it had misappropriated livelihood support payments for Shinan labor exploitation victims and residents over several years. Pastor Park, the building owner, has been indicted by prosecutors on charges of quasi-fraud and embezzlement for siphoning off 90 million won from a patient’s account as a deposit and embezzling more than 20 million won over six occasions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.